Aberdeen student wins BBC Wildlife award

Aberdeen’s Sarah Marley will today be announced as BBC Wildlife Magazine’s Young Environmental Journalist of the Year 2007.

Sarah Marley, from Westhill, Aberdeen, impressed the judges with her profile of marine mammal conservationist Paul Thompson, a professor in zoology at the University of Aberdeen, who conducts research into the Moray Firth bottlenose dolphin population.  
 
Sarah commented: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this award. While I have been involved with the student newspaper Gaudie for most of my degree, to have my work published in a title as prestigious as BBC Wildlife Magazine is amazing. Winning this award has confirmed that this definitely a path I would like to follow as a career.”
 
The competition was launched to find the next generation of environmental campaigners and talented writers. Budding young journalists were invited to write a profile of a person they regard as a conservation hero, with the judges looking for articles that combined accurate and objective reporting with a passionate regard for wildlife and the environment.
 
Sophie Stafford, Editor of BBC Wildlife Magazine, said: “Once again we have been overwhelmed by both the response and the standard of the essays entered. The judges were really struck by Sarah Marley’s well-rounded article, which demonstrates that she is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about environmental issues.”
 
Currently at the University of Aberdeen, Sarah is working on a project studying bottlenose dolphins, and she hopes to pursue a Masters or Phd in the same field.
 
Sarah’s winning entry will be published in the November issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine, on sale 25 October 2007, £3.25.