Award to honour green campaigner
PORTHCAWL environmental campaigner Margaret Minhinnick has received an award marking her three decades of commitment to the green movement.
She received the Special Recognition Award at the Cynnal Cymru Sustain Wales awards, which were held at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Thursday.
The event brought together more than 120 business leaders, innovators, community pioneers, educators and their teams.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges and more than 11,300 individual votes by the public.
Particular attention was paid to Margaret’s pathfinding work as joint creator of Friends of the Earth Cymru in 1984 and also as joint creator in 1997 of the charity Sustainable Wales, based in Porthcawl.
At present Margaret re- mains the first director of Sustainable Wales, which incorporates the ethical/ fair trade shop, Sussed.
Margaret is only the second person to win the Special Recognition Award after Peter Davies, the first Sustainability Commissioner for Wales.
She said: “This award is important to me because it is recognition by my peers.
“The world was a far different place in 1980, when I helped begin Porthcawl Friends of the Earth.
“Somehow we coped without internet, smart phones and satnav.
“Sustainable Wales today remains dedicated to helping young people who take those things for granted. We are proud of our young workers who have gone on to other careers in the green movement.
“Sustainable Wales and Sussed will remain dedicated to providing an ethical choice.”