Johnny McCrystal, from Ballymena, Co Antrim beat off stiff competition to win at the gala ceremony on 18 September, which honoured unsung heroes from across the region.

There are 13 categories in the Belfast Telegraph’s Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards, including Charity Champion, 999 Hero, Spirit of Health, Spirit of Education, Spirit of Youth, Unsung Hero, Spirit of Education, and Spirit of Sport.

A judging panel from the Belfast Telegraph and headline sponsors Ulster Bank chose the winners, who were revealed at the glitzy event at the Culloden Estate in Co Down with guest speakers including Sir Bob Geldof and entertainment from Irish pop band B*witched.

During his 12 years at the charity, Johnny McCrystal has shown great creativity and initiative in his engagement with schools and pupils, motivating hundreds of families to ditch the car and to choose an active, healthy, eco-friendly journey to school.

Accepting the award, Johnny said: “For me this is a dream job to work with young people and help people be physically active. I’ve always had a keen interest in the environment, to be able to carry that through into my job. It’s not really a job, it’s a passion.”

One million car trips saved

As a result of the 2024-25 Active School Travel programme across Northern Ireland, it is estimated that one million car trips have been saved over the past year.

The Programme is jointly funded by the Public Health Agency and Department for Infrastructure.

Johnny’s work contributed to the overall success of the Active School Travel Programme where he is the Project Officer based in the north-east region covering most of north Antrim.

At the end of the 2024-25 school year, the number of children travelling actively to school at participating schools in Northern Ireland increased from 35% to 45%. At the same time, the number of pupils being driven to school fell from 58% to 49%.

However, it is Johnny’s personal impact that makes him stand out as an Environmental Hero.

In the past year, Johnny has refurbished over 40 pre-loved bikes and scooters and gifted them to schools across the north-east of Northern Ireland.

Through Johnny's work, bikes and scooters, which would otherwise end up in landfills, are being refurbished and placed in school communities for future use. School children are also being educated about the value of recycling.

Boosting children’s interest in the environment

Johnny delivers teacher training opportunities to help school staff to utilise the recycled bikes by showing them how to lead cycle skills sessions for children, as well as ‘Learn to Cycle’ workshops to help pupils ride a bike for the very first time.

Johnny is never short of ideas to boost children’s interest in the environment. He came up with the idea of the Active School Travel Book Swop in which pupils are invited to walk, wheel or cycle to school with a pre-loved book donation to gain a token to swop for a new pre-loved book.

Beth Harding, Active School Travel Programme Manager said: “I am so delighted for Johnny, who is incredibly deserving of the Environmental Hero award. Furthermore, this award represents all the amazing work of the collective Schools Team and the schools taking part in the Active School Travel Programme across Northern Ireland.”