This year, Environment@Eton launched its Wildlife Photography Competition with the theme of ‘Recovering’. The competition received over 20 entries from boys and members of the Eton community, whose images you can see in the gallery below. Congratulations to George Cooke Crossley, Robin Denison-Pender and Mr Miles for their winning entries, judged by the secretaries of the Environment and Photographic Societies, Mr Fielker, Master-in-Charge of the Ornithology Society and Mademoiselle Herbommez, Master-in-Charge of the Environment Society.
Robin Denison-Pender said of his photograph of the Dartford Warbler, “I took this image during the Easter holidays at Thursley Common nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its rare reptiles, dragonflies and birds (the warbler included as it is only found on heathlands in the south of the country and there are only around 3,000 breeding pairs). Unfortunately, in May 2020 a large fire broke out which devastated 150 hectares of this crucial and rare lowland heath habitat. A year on, however, and nature is bouncing back – the sight of this rare bird singing away on its territory just a year on shows how resilient nature is and how quickly it can recover, given the chance”
His photograph of a roe deer, captured on the golf course at Eton, was a complete surprise. “I went out with my camera not expecting not find anything much, but to my delight and surprise this curious little deer was happy to investigate and approached to within 10 metres of me. I had never seen deer around the school until this encounter. Despite the bustle of school life, there is plenty of wildlife around Eton, you just need to know where to look.”
