An Aviemore youngster now has a hat-trick of titles to his name after he scooped a new award from UK National Parks.
Xander Johnston has already been named Cairngorms Nature Ambassador and Young Nature Champion.
And now the Kingussie High School pupil has scooped the the UK National Parks Conference’s New Horizons accolade.
The award is new for 2019 and has been created to recognise a young person, under 30, who has made a significant contribution to a National Park.
Xander – “Ant Boy” – first came to the attention of the Cairngorms National Park Authority when he attended an event to look for wood ants as part of the park’s Big Weekend.
This sparked a love of ants and he entered a video about them into the Young Presenter competition, where he was a runner up in 2017. He is also a regular volunteer with the Cairngorms Rare Invertebrates Project.
A spokesman for the judges said: “Xander has tirelessly championed the area’s biodiversity, helping to increase the knowledge of rare invertebrates in his local area by finding new sites and raising awareness through his YouTube videos. He is an outstanding young person, whose passion for nature – and considerable knowledge – shines through in every conversation.”
Xander said it was an “honour” to be recognised.