Anthea Dewhurst spent two weeks surveying River Otter populations in Chile after being awarded an Earthwatch Millennium Fellowship in 2002. As well as recording the otter population as part of a long-term monitoring project, Anthea - a qualified teacher - also gave lessons to the local school children about the threats faced by the river otters, which included the canalisation of rivers, and the conversion of riverine habitat into coniferous forest.

"It was a fantastic opportunity – it gave me a bigger picture – it widened my horizons".

After returning from her trip, Anthea visited local primary schools and youth groups describing her experiences in Chile. Inspiring them to protect the river habitats in Monmouthshire where she lives.

As a councillor, Anthea also insisted on the council using recycled paper, an action inspired by the destruction of the landscape by conifer plantations planted to create paper.