Winners of Young Photographers Competition 2025 announced at hedge planting
Despite the threat of rain looming through the morning, a host of 30 young and not-so-young enthusiasts turned out to plant around 200 saplings (or ‘whips’) in the Park Lane hedge. The mix of all-native species comprised field maple, dogwood, spindle, guelder rose, privet and hazel. We also planted some holly in the shadier areas and a few hawthorn whips to add to the existing hawthorns. These old hawthorns were all that remained of the existing hedge once the 30m stretch opposite Melvin Way had been cleared of the brambles and ivy which had overwhelmed the original hedging here.
As with last year’s planting, we have thickened the hedge adding two new rows on the meadow side to the original single line of hedge plants. This should be good for all sorts of wildlife, whether small insects and other invertebrates, or birds and mammals that will feast on the autumnal berries. Photographs taken at the planting are shown below.
A highlight of the morning was a break for the Young Photographers’ competition award ceremony. Katharine Holliday, the charity’s chair and a member of the judging panel, made the presentations to some of the photographers and their families who joined us.
She spoke of Simeon Roberts as a well-deserved winner with a picture which not only captured its subject in an interesting way but one that was complemented well by the colours, light and framing. Katharine spoke warmly of the other entries and was clearly impressed by the skills shown by all our Young Photographers and the interesting range of subjects used to illustrate “Why I like nature”. Indeed, Isaac Sanders was a close runner up with two remarkable pictures. These, as with the winning shot and those highly commended, will be on display in the Histon library from Friday 12th up to the New Year. All entries are featured in our gallery here.
Our host of helpers managed to get most of the hedge work complete before the rain set in. This rain will surely have given the whips a good start in their new positions.
No doubt when spring arrives, there will be weeding and watering (hopefully not too much) to do – and the opportunity to nurture the new plants as they grow to form the new length of hedge.
For now, it’s fantastic that we got everything into the ground in just one session – a big thank you to all!
