Back in the Summer, Barking and Dagenham Council asked residents to show off their photography skills, for a local wildlife photo competition called ‘Wild and Free’, run by the council's Ranger Services team.
They were asked to explore local wildlife in the borough’s parks and green spaces and to take photos that showcased how wonderful the wildlife is in the borough. The judges were not disappointed by the skills on show as they received lots of amazing pictures from anything to sunflowers to green woodpeckers, demonstrating how diverse the local wildlife is.
It was wonderful to see how diverse our wildlife is in the borough and to see how creative our residents are
Entries came from a variety of age groups and photos were put into categories and winning entries have now been chosen by a panel of judges, including the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, Cllr Saima Ashraf, Member Champion for Climate Change, Cllr Andrew Achilleos and members of the Ranger Services team.
The winners are:
Under 7’s category - Deividas Kunigelis, Age 6
For Deividas’s photo of tadpoles, the judges said “It brings back memories of childhood, simple pleasures, highlights how much life can exist right in front of us if we pay attention and look closer. An ideal representation of lifecycles through the changing seasons.”
8-11 years old category - Aaron Khan, Age 11
For Aaron’s photo of a green woodpecker, judges said: “Because of the unusual sight of this bird in an urban setting, more often seen in parks/green spaces, literally ‘wildlife on your doorstep’, great moment to be captured by a child.”
Adults category - Janette Powell
For Janette’s photo of an urban fox, judges said: “This is a perfect example of nature making the most of quieter roads during lockdown and how nature will ‘come to you’ if you are patient and quiet. A great, clear picture and a well framed image of a fox that has lots of personality.”
Steve Drake
For Steve’s photo of a juvenile kestrel, judges said: “A species that people may not be so familiar with, a brilliant find in the woodlands by the photographer. Really lovely clear image with lots of personality as it’s looking right into the camera.”
The photos of the winners and finalists will be included in a ‘Wild and Free’ 2021 calendar, and they will all receive a copy and it will also be made available to purchase, with more information on how to, coming soon.
Cllr Saima Ashraf said: “It was wonderful to see how diverse our wildlife is in the borough and to see how creative our residents are. It was a pleasure being on the judging panel seeing everyone’s great photos and for me, it demonstrated how special our parks and green spaces are.”
Cllr Andrew Achilleos said: “We have so much beautiful green space in Barking and Dagenham, where wildlife thrives and I’m sure at times, can go slightly unnoticed. It was great to see how our residents went out and captured local wildlife in its natural habitat. It is important for the community to visit the parks in the borough and I hope that this competition highlighted how wonderful they are.”