The judges have been announced for Making A Difference, The Northern Echo's community environmental competition.

Making A Difference, which pays tribute to community groups in the region who are improving their local environment, was launched for its third year in January.

The competition is aimed at groups working on projects as diverse as cleaning out polluted becks, planting woodland, encouraging recycling and saving energy.

Two of the judges will be John Dean, who writes on environmental issues for The Northern Echo, and Richard Wood, chief executive of Durham Wildlife Trust. Both also judged the first two competitions.

The third judge, as in the first two years, will come from competition sponsor, regional development agency One NorthEast, and will be named nearer the time.

Several entries have already been received for the competition, which has a closing date of Wednesday, August 15, after which shortlisted projects will be visited by the judging panel. The winner receives £500.

Professor David Bellamy has agreed to preside over the prize-giving ceremony, which will be held before the end of the year.

To enter, fill in the form printed here, or access the competition website on thisisthenortheast.co.uk/eco and follow the instructions for the competitions section.