Land Trust 2021 Photography competition winner announced

With over 250 photographs entered into this year’s photography competition, the Land Trust has announced its winner.

Sean Barnett took the winning photograph, which shows a Kingfisher perched with a freshly caught fish in its beak at the Avenue Country Park in Chesterfield.

Not only was the photograph a stunning capture, it holds significance with its surroundings and the story behind it.

The bird is perched on the remains of a boardwalk which was set alight in an arson attack in June 2021.

Boardwalk destroyed by vandals. Photo: Derrick Hawkins

Not only is this a metaphor for how nature recovers and adapts to its surroundings, it’s a poignant reminder about the history and transformation of the site.

The Avenue Country Park was once a coking works, and was dubbed as one of the most polluted sites in Europe. The remediation works took several years and has now become a haven for nature, as shown by the stunning photographs the Trust received from the park in this year’s competition.

Sean Barnett, the winning photographer, said:

“Thank you to the Land Trust for hosting the competition. Congratulations to the other entrants for making it to the final and taking such wonderful photos, but most of all, thank you to the people who voted for my image, it really is appreciated.”

Alan Carter, Director of Operations at the Land Trust, said:

“Sean’s photograph is a very worthy winner. It’s a stunning way of showing how the Land Trust works.

“We take spaces which are often derelict, or burdens on the local community, and transform them into valued spaces in which nature can thrive.

“We were blown away by the quality of the entries this year and it was a really close call in the end, so thank you to everyone who took the time to enter and show us our sites through their eyes.”

The Land Trust’s 2022 competition will open in Spring.