Vote for your Future Friendly winner!

The 5^th Future Friendly Awards is a nationwide search for communities and individuals committed to making a difference by promoting sustainable living through their actions.  The latest Awards have attracted a lot of entries from community groups and environmental heroes across the UK - all demonstrating the inspiring work being done around the country to help protect the planet.

Visit www.futurefriendly.co.uk to vote for your favourite community project. Here you can read about all the great environmental efforts and vote for who you believe to be most worthy of a prize. 

12 regional semi-finalists from the UK and Ireland will each receive £1,000. Our panel of judges, including experts from the Energy Saving Trust, Waste Watch and Waterwise will then select one national winner to win the £10,000 bursary to help support their sustainable efforts.

TV presenter and green mum Gabby Logan encourages everyone to vote for their local community group in the Future Friendly Awards: 'Vote now for your local community group at www.futurefriendly.co.uk and help them get the reward and recognition they deserve.  By doing simple, inspired little acts, we can all become more Future Friendly and help contribute to a better tomorrow.'

Past community winners have ranged from an online ‘swap shop’ for baby equipment to an invention to help measure water consumption, and last year’s winners, the Project Group from Shropshire, who recycle waste into eye-catching fashion and art pieces. Who will it be this year? You decide.

By voting, you can help provide the support that these community groups deserve. Previous Future Friendly community winner, the 1st Clanfield Scout Group from Hampshire, used its £10,000 bursary to install two solar panels, restore the surrounding paddock, and set up indoor disabled facilities to encourage the use of the building and grounds for people with special needs.

Doris Barden, Group Secretary of the Scout Group, said: 'Without the Future Friendly support we would never have been able to complete our environmental wish list and for this we are most appreciative.'

This year and for the first time ever, we also want to recognise local ‘Little’ and ‘Big Heroes’, aged under and over 18 respectively, for their sustainable efforts too. An overall winner in each category, chosen by the judge panel, will receive a sustainable holiday for five worth £1,000.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 21^st August 2011 so there is still time to get voting! To find out more about Future Friendly visit www.futurefriendly.co.uk.