Biodiversity photo competition:
our winners
You helped us showcase the breadth of
biodiversity in the UK
Are the Government’s current plans on biodiversity enough? We wanted to find out, so we launched an inquiry into biodiversity and ecosystems in July 2020.
We invited members of the public to help us highlight the breadth of biodiversity in the UK by participating in a photo competition. The winners will be featured on the cover and in the report itself.
From frogs to red squirrels to violets, each entry we received serves as a visual reminder of why protecting biodiversity is so important. Thank you for your contributions.
Blue Damselflies taken by Michael Swailes, submitted on his behalf by Elaine Swailes, is featured on the front cover of our report and others appear inside.
The competition was judged by Committee Chairman Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, with help from committee staff.
"I would like to thank each and every person that sent in their photographs of UK wildlife. As expected, the entries varied significantly: from shrubs and trees, to mammals and amphibians, and even insects of all shapes and sizes. They were captured in numerous locations: from fields to moors, back gardens and underwater."
Read on for our favourites, which you can also see in our report.
Our front-cover winner: Blue Damselflies, taken outside Exeter on the river Exe. Photo by Michael Swailes, submitted on his behalf by Eileen Swailes.
Eleven other incredible images are featured in the pages of our report. Scroll on to see them in full. In no particular order:
Common Shield Beetle at Somerset Lavender Farm. Photo by Dr. Akif Ali Khan @psychodiagnose.
A Northern Gannet, taken near Noss in Shetland. Photo by Philip Hayman, @ty_nant on Instagram.
Canary-shouldered thorn moth, pictured on Dartmoor. Photo by Charlie Elder, @charlieelderTH on Twitter.
Jewel anemones in Hand Deeps near Eddystone Lighthouse. Photo by Jon Copley @expeditionlog.
Jewel anemones in Hand Deeps near Eddystone Lighthouse. Photo by Jon Copley @expeditionlog.
Squirrel in Cairngorms National Park. Photo by Michael Cuff.
Frog in watering can, Tiptree. Photo by Tony Bond.
Heather, Ashdown Forrest, East Sussex. Photo by Eloise Cuff.
Black Darter Dragonfly, Scotland. Photo by Tina Beck.
Black Darter Dragonfly, Scotland. Photo by Tina Beck.
Owl in flight. Photo by John Stembidge @stembidge.
European honeybee on a garden dahlia in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Photo by Phill Dixon @PhillDixon1.
Pine Trees on Ockham Common, Surrey. Photo by Andrea Bayley.
Our report, Biodiversity in the UK: Bloom or Bust? was published on 30 June 2021. Detailed information about our inquiry can be found on our website.
If you’re interested in our work, you can find our more on the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee website. You can also follow our work on Twitter.
The Environmental Audit Committee is a House of Commons Select Committee. We monitor the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies, ensuring they contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development. We also audit their performance against sustainable development and environmental protection targets.
Header image: Djan Macalister via Unsplash
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