Youth ambassador named national winner of Volunteers for Museum Learning award

Youth ambassador Rose Byers has been named the overall national winner of the Volunteers for Museum Learning award. Byers, who is a singer and violinist, as well as a pupil at Lockerbie Academy, was recognised for her work at Ellisland Museum and Farm in Dumfries, the former home of Robert Burns.

She is one of 12 volunteers and volunteer groups from across the UK recognised by this year’s award, which celebrates the contribution that volunteers make to helping museums engage with visitors. The winners were announced this week by the British Museum and the Marsh Christian Trust.

The aim of the award is to recognise those volunteers who engage directly with museum visitors in any capacity. This could involve leading a school group, staffing an information desk, helping with family activities, running a guided tour or any number of other ways in which volunteers provide such excellent support to museum visitors.

There were a large number of applications from across the UK for the Volunteers for Museum Learning award, some from groups of volunteers and some from individuals. The judges consisted of staff from the Marsh Trust, staff and volunteers from the British Museum and a representative from last year’s winners, Temple Newsam, Leeds.

“Museums across the UK rely on the contribution of volunteers to ensure their collections reach and inspire as many people as possible,” said Richard Lambert, the chairman of the Trustees at the British Museum. “The efforts of volunteers up and down the country in 2019 are an inspiration as we all continue to navigate the challenges presented to us all in 2020."

The winners will each receive a cash prize of £500, donated by the Marsh Christian Trust. Byers will receive an additional £2,000 as the national winner.

This is the 12^th year that the British Museum and the Marsh Christian Trust have been working in partnership on the Volunteers for Museum Learning award.

The Volunteers for Museum Learning award forms part of a programme of awards presented by the Marsh Christian Trust in the fields of science, ecology, conservation, heritage, literature and volunteering.

The 2019 Volunteers for Museum Learning winners

Scotland and national winner

• Rose Byers at Ellisland Museum and Farm, Dumfries.

North East

• Breaking Chains, North Shields and Slavery Project Group, Old Low Light Heritage Centre, Tyne and Wear.

North West

• Juan Cunliffe at The Lion Saltworks, Cheshire.

Yorkshire

• The Youth Collective at Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds.

Midlands

• The Walled Garden Team, Wollaton Hall and Deer Park, Nottingham.

Wales

• Kate Shepherd at Plas Newydd (National Trust), Anglesey.

East of England

• Geoff Wicken at Watford Museum, Hertfordshire.

South West

• Bill Read at Athelstan Museum, Wiltshire.

South East

• Hollycombe Working Steam Museum Volunteers, Hollycombe Working Steam Museum, Hampshire.

London (Joint Winners)

• The ‘We Were There’ team, Imperial War Museum, London.
• Valence House Events Volunteers, Valence House, Dagenham.

Northern Ireland

• Catalyst Arts Team, Catalyst Arts, Belfast.