On 22 August 2024, Sir David Attenborough was awarded the Rothschild medal in recognition of the extraordinary inspiration, leadership and support he has given to The Wildlife Trusts federation of charities over the past 60 years.
The medal was awarded at a small celebration at London Wildlife Trust’s Crane Park Island Nature Reserve. It was given to Sir David by Charlotte Lane, grand-daughter of the Honourable Charles Rothschild and daughter of Dame Miriam Rothschild, pioneering conservationists in whose name the medal was created.
Charles Rothschild founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves which would later become The Wildlife Trusts. He was ahead of his time in recognising the need to protect natural habitats in order to save the wildlife that lived there. His daughter, Miriam, was a visionary scientist who dedicated her life to the natural world.
Sir David Attenborough credits Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust’s Tilton Cutting Nature Reserve with giving him his love of the natural world – he would explore it and search for fossils there as a young boy. Since then, Sir David has gone on to form a long association with The Wildlife Trusts, visiting and championing their work across the UK for six decades.