28 November 2025
We are thrilled to announce that the Friends of St Peter’s Berkhamsted and the Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens have both been crowned UK Volunteer Team of the Year.
The standard of entries for the Green Flag Award ‘Best of the Best’ awards is always exceptionally high, but this year, the judges faced an impossible choice in the ‘Volunteer Team of the Year’ category.
Presented with two outstanding nominations—both demonstrating incredible innovation, community impact, and tireless dedication—the judges decided that the only fair outcome was to declare a tie.
We are thrilled to announce that the Friends of St Peter’s Berkhamsted and the Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens have both been crowned UK Volunteer Team of the Year.
Here is why these two inspirational groups have been recognised as the best of the best.
Friends of St Peter’s Berkhamsted: Reviving heritage
Rectory Lane Cemetery
The transformation of Rectory Lane Cemetery is nothing short of remarkable. Once a "neglected eyesore," this three-acre site has been turned into a vibrant green haven and a vital heritage asset, largely thanks to the Friends of St Peter’s.
The judges were particularly impressed by the sheer scope of the volunteers' work. This is a team that goes far beyond simple maintenance. They have introduced a "living museum" concept through:
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Innovation: Their 'Adopt and Garden a Grave' programme has inspired over 60 volunteers to maintain individual plots, turning a challenge into a beautiful patchwork of care.
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Digital heritage: The volunteer genealogy team has researched 2,500 biographies of the people buried there, geo-plotting graves onto a public database to help families find their ancestors.
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Biodiversity: From digging ponds and planting native hedges to keeping beehives, the team has created a wildlife corridor that is accessible 24/7.
Despite challenges like occasional anti-social behaviour, the team has remained undeterred. One Green Flag Award judge described the group as "the model that all community groups should aspire to," noting their work was among the best seen in 15 years of judging.
Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens: Protectors of pollinators
Antrim Castle Gardens
Matching this standard of excellence is the team at Antrim Castle Gardens. Comprising 30 volunteers aged from their mid-20s to their 80s, this group clocked up an incredible 5,000 voluntary hours over the last year alone.
While they are masters of traditional gardening—keeping the site pesticide-free and blooming—their win is attributed to their massive community outreach and their response to the biodiversity crisis.
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The pollinator plaza: Noticing a decline in local insects, the team secured funding to transform a rarely used space into a "5-star hotel" for nature, featuring bug hotels and nesting boxes that were occupied within weeks.
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Community spirit: The team extends their care beyond the garden gates, creating Christmas wreaths for local nursing homes and giving demonstrations at Garden Show Ireland.
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Resilience: The team overcame significant obstacles this year, including extreme weather conditions that required extra weekend shifts just to keep the gardens watered and surviving.
The physical and mental health benefits provided by the Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens are immeasurable, creating a space where visitors can relax and where volunteers find camaraderie and purpose.
A vital contribution
While their projects differ—one revitalising a Victorian cemetery, the other creating a pollinator paradise in a historic garden—both winners share a common thread. They prove that green spaces are the beating heart of a community, and that volunteers are the lifeblood that keeps them pumping.
Congratulations to both the Friends of St Peter’s Berkhamsted and the Friends of Antrim Castle Gardens on this well-deserved recognition!
