On Monday 14 May, Minister of the Environment Jaanus Tamkivi presented the 2007 Eerik Kumari Conservation Award at the opening ceremony of Conservation Month at the Tallinn Botanical Garden. The 19th recipient to be chosen by the selection committee was long-serving soil scientist and biology doctorate academic Loit Reintam. “There is no doubt that Loit Reintam is the most knowledgeable person in Estonia when it comes to soil and one of its greatest defenders,” said Uno Veering, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Environment and director of the Eerik Kumari Award Selection Committee. “Not only has he been tireless in promoting soil as one of nature’s greatest resources, but he is also one of the longest serving ecologists and conservations in Estonia.” Reintam, who notched up 100 semesters of teaching at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, has lectured thousands of students on soil science, soil geography, soil mapping and evaluation, ecology, and environmental and nature conservation. He held a number of positions at the university, including Dean of the Faculty of Agronomy, director of soil science and agrochemistry subjects, Chair of Ecology and Agrochemistry, and Professor of the Soil Science and Agrochemistry Institute. Reintam may now be retired, but he remains actively involved in his science as a member of the Conservation Committee of the Estonian Academy of Science. Reintam’s contribution to conservation has been just as considerable. Both his popular and more academic articles have broadened the horizons of readers in terms of appreciating the natural world. He was behind the establishment of the first Conservation Month in 1989, whose theme was protection of land and soil. In 1987 he organised a day of presentations on the problems associated with soil protection to mark the 75th birthday of Eerik Kumari. As one of the country’s greatest experts on these subjects, his field trips provide a wealth of knowledge about landscapes, soil, agriculture, conservation, forests and national and cultural history. Reintam’s colleagues view him as a man of precision who carried out his work with the same ideals and principles as Eerik Kumari. “Of the eight candidates for the award this year, Loit Reintam was certainly the most worthy recipient,” said Veering. The Ministry of the Environment has awarded the Eerik Kumari prize during Nature Conservation Month every year since 1989. The prize is designed to highlight the work of individuals and groups in the protection of communities, species and special sites and the distribution and promotion of information on these and related subjects. The very first prize was awarded to Fred Jüssi, while the 2006 award went to Tiit Randla for his many years of nature conservation and protection, studies and promotion of public interest in birds. Eerik Kumari (1912-1984) was the chairman of the Nature Conservation Committee of the Estonian Academy of Science for almost 30 years and was behind the launch of the country’s ‘red book.’ In the wider world the professor of ornithology is well-known for laying the foundations of bird-related research and nature conservation in Estonia. The Eerik Kumari award is valued at 30,000 kroons. For further information please contact: |
