Manx Wildlife Trust held their nature photography competition reveal at the Ayres Visitor centre on Sunday 22nd May. The focus of the competition was the Trust’s Cooildarry reserve just south of Kirk Michael. Lara Howe (Marine Officer) said “We wanted to promote the Trusts reserves and get people out and about seeing nature up close. This all links in with our 30 Day Wild Campaign in June”. The reserve is made up of 18 acres of woodland with waterfalls and a riverside walk, teeming with life including over 50 recorded species of birds. The standard of imagery was high with some great and varied images produced; making it a tough challenge for our judges to decide on the winners. It’s amazing to see what wonderful wildlife can be seen on our doorstep.
The Trust’s CEO Tim Graham revealed the photographs that were entered into the competition giving some insightful comments. The winners for each category were announced and the prizes awarded. In the Budding photographer category (under 11’s) William Kermode’s photograph of a garlic flower won bested on its composition and clarity, whilst in the adult category Suzanne McKnight’s image of a frog in the undergrowth captured the hearts of the judges. Tim Graham (CEO) said “it is great to see such eager photographers, not only are they getting our in nature but it photos like these that really help other people understand how great Manx wildlife can be. It is fantastic people will be able to see them at the airport and helps highlight International Day of Biodiversity”.
It turned out to be quite a family affair at the prize ceremony at the Ayres Visitor Centre, amongst the basking lizards and hunting gannets. It became apparent that William Kermode is the nephew of Suzanne McKnight and so they are quite the family of wildlife photographers!
Manx Wildlife Trust would like to thank all who entered the competition. Thanks of course go to the judges for their deliberations and RL 360o for sponsoring the prizes, and a special note of thanks goes to Michael Howland for giving the initial talk at the launch event on 2ndMay, getting our creative juices flowing, and for helping with the judging.
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Contact information
Lara Howe – Marine Officer
Office: 01624 844432
Or Pashala Yates
Office: 01624 844432
Images are included for use with this news release. They are granted on a one-time use basis, in association with this release and the photographer must be credited.
Attached Photos:
Suzanne McKnight Adult Winner_frog This is the Adult winning photo. Frogs are an important indicator for the health of the environment, and especially our dubs/ponds. http://www.manxwt.org.uk/what-we-do/wildflowers-mann/dubs-wildlife
William Kermode Budding Photographer Winner_Smellie. Wild Garlic is one of the scents of spring, and not only overpowering with its smell of garlic, nearer the TT it starts to die back and can be quite notorious for becoming more smelly!
Suzanne McKnight with prize suzanne won at £50 photography supply voucher thanks to RL 360.
Alison Kermode accepting for William with prize William’s mum accepted the prize, which is a bug hotel and hopefully will enable William to get more photographs from his garden.
MWT is the leading nature conservation charity on the Isle of Man and whilst it is a fully independent, Manx charity it also benefits from its partnership with 46 other Wildlife Trusts throughout the British Isles.
One of the Trust’s main aims is to acquire and manage nature reserves and safe sites for wildlife, conserving some of the best habitats and species on the Island. To this effect, the Trust is currently actively managing 23 local reserves encompassing almost 300 acres of land. The Trust is also committed to providing environmental education and awareness throughout the local community.
