A hedgehog hospital, an LGBT history project and a community martial arts gym in Bodmin were all celebrated at a ceremony in Cornwall.
The winners of the BBC Radio Cornwall Make a Difference Awards 2026 were announced in Truro on Wednesday. The awards, now in their fifth year, recognise the unsung people and groups who make a difference in communities across the county.
Emma Clements, managing editor of BBC Radio Cornwall, thanked everyone involved, adding: "I think that everyone who was nominated should feel very proud and be celebrated for the work they do."
Orkney, 11, from the Isles of Scilly won the Young Hero award for raising money for charity through a series of island and coastal running challenges. Most recently he completed a seven-day 77km (48m) run along the South West Coast Path between Porthleven and Penzance, before crossing back to Scilly by ferry to finish his course.
He said: "It was amazing, I found out Cornwall is very hilly compared to Scilly. I've raised money for the Marine Conservation Society, because I live by the sea, and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, to keep the habitat of where I live in tip top shape. I'm hoping when I'm older I can do mad things, I'm planning when I'm 16 to run the whole UK," added Orkney.
Queer Kernow CIC is a non-profit community group dedicated to uncovering and celebrating Cornwall's forgotten LGBT history. The winner from the four community group finalists was chosen by John Cleave, one of the Fisherman's Friends shanty singers.
Cleave said: "It was terribly difficult to differentiate between them because what struck me most of all was that all of these folks that are involved in these community projects do what they do out of kindness, and out of love. I was saddened to see that, uniquely out of the four nominees, Queer Cornwall had to close their Facebook site because of hate messages. So because of this, I choose Queer Cornwall so that you should feel properly embraced as an integral and vibrant part of the Cornwall of today and of yesterday and of the future."
After collecting the Community Group award, historian Sophie Meyer said: "I feel like you get really ground down sometimes working with marginalised communities and actually this is a real pat on the back. We are here and we have got support and it's not just constantly fighting against negativity, it is valued and seen and worthy of consideration outside our little sphere of LGBT groups."
The Environmental Award went to Lanjeth Nursery and Water Gardens, a 13-acre plant-filled space created from an abandoned garden centre. It is now a popular community space and a haven for nature.
Directors Steve Small and Norman Trebilcock collected the award. Trebilcock said: "I was nearly in tears, it was amazing, I didn't expect it." Small added: "It was fantastic just to be nominated but to become the winners was just fantastic, especially when we're competing against other fantastic people."
Cornwall’s 2026 Make a Difference Winners Announced