"SpongeBooster of the year 2026" award

The SpongeBoost project consortium honours outstanding implementation projects aimed at the restoration of sponge landscapes. The "SpongeBooster of the year 2026" will be awarded during a field trip to the winning project area in spring.

Applications must be submitted by 30 November 2025. The jury will make a decision in December 2025. The winner(s) will be announced at the beginning of the year (January/February 2026). The award will be presented on-site the following spring. Representatives from the project consortium will serve as the jury for the SpongeBoost Award. Winners of each category will be presented along with their respective projects.

Participation Conditions

• Both organisations and private individuals are eligible to participate.
• Potential winners can be proposed by a third party.
• The conservation project must have been implemented within the last five years (e.g., for the 2026 award, between January 2020 and December 2025).
• Applicants from EU countries, Switzerland, the UK, Norway, and the Balkan countries are eligible to apply.
• Restoration and rewetting projects must have been primarily carried out in outdoor areas.
• Applications submitted between 27 October 2025 and 30 November 2025 will be considered. Applications must be submitted exclusively via the online form. For reference, the contents of the form can be reviewed in this file.

The full list of requirements can also be viewed here.

Requested Documents

• Presenting the project (including a description of the project, organisation, project area, main tasks, etc.). 
• Correctly completed online application form (see template for preparation).
• Aerial photo or plan of the area, ideally with the implemented measures marked.
• Photos of the implemented measures.

NB! All photo materials should be sent via email to Carina Darmstadt at darmstadt@duh.de 

The SpongeBoost team looks forward to receiving numerous impactful SpongeBoost examples.