The Simon Boas Success Story Award was created by Jersey Finance to honour the life and legacy of Simon Boas, whose contribution to Jersey and the wider international community left an extraordinary mark on those who worked with him.
As Executive Director of Jersey Overseas Aid, Simon was widely respected for his compassion, intellect and unwavering commitment to meaningful, long-term impact. During his eight years leading the organisation, he helped transform its approach to international development and was instrumental in strengthening partnerships with organisations including Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, helping reshape major conservation and livelihoods programmes reaching hundreds of thousands of people globally. He was remembered by colleagues as a remarkable collaborator, an exceptional communicator and someone who brought warmth, humility and humanity to every room he entered.
Established in his memory as part of the Jersey Sustainable Finance Awards, the Simon Boas Success Story Award recognises initiatives that reflect those same qualities: long-term vision, meaningful collaboration and the ability to deliver enduring positive impact through thoughtful stewardship and shared purpose.
At this year’s Jersey Sustainable Finance Awards, Affinity Private Wealth and the Dalnacardoch rewilding initiative were named the inaugural recipients of the Simon Boas Success Story Award in recognition of a project that reflects the values Simon championed throughout his life: long-term thinking, meaningful collaboration and lasting positive impact.
Dalnacardoch is a century-long ecological restoration project developed through collaboration between a client family, Affinity Private Wealth and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Spanning 7,650 hectares of Scottish upland, it represents one of the most ambitious rewilding initiatives connected to Jersey. The project focuses on restoring degraded peatland, regenerating native woodland, repairing river systems and supporting biodiversity recovery through a long-term, science-led conservation strategy.
The initiative emerged from a values-led philanthropic discussion with a client family seeking to align private capital more intentionally with environmental impact. Through careful structuring, stewardship and collaboration with Durrell, that vision evolved into a 100-year restoration programme designed to deliver ecological recovery over generations.
Durrell now acts as long-term steward of the estate under a 100-year lease arrangement, overseeing restoration activity through ecological monitoring, scientific assessment and adaptive conservation planning.
Recognition through the Simon Boas Success Story Award reflects not only the progress made to date, but the scale of the long-term ambition behind the project. It acknowledges a restoration effort built on the same principles Simon championed throughout his life: partnership, patience, integrity and the belief that meaningful change is achieved through sustained commitment over time.
At the heart of Dalnacardoch is collaboration. It is a project made possible by people and organisations coming together with a shared belief that thoughtful stewardship today can help shape a better world tomorrow. In many ways, that spirit reflects Simon’s own legacy: the understanding that the most meaningful progress is achieved when people work together in service of something greater than themselves.
As Dalnacardoch continues its journey, it stands as a reminder that when expertise, ambition and purpose are united, sustainable finance can do more than preserve wealth. It can help create a lasting legacy, restoring landscapes, protecting biodiversity and contributing to a healthier planet for generations to come.
