Charity

Welsh teen wins photography competition with ‘perfect puffin pic’

Published

3 months ago

December 19, 2024

A STRIKING image of a puffin on Skomer Island in west Wales has been hailed the winner of this year’s prestigious RSPCA Young Photographer Awards – a year which saw the charity mark its historic 200th anniversary.

The winning entry was from Anwen Whitehead, 15, from Cnwch Coch in Aberystwyth, and announced at a ceremony at the Tower of London held today (Thursday 19 December) – a special and historic event which also celebrates the RSPCA’s milestone anniversary.

Every year, the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards invites young people aged 18 years and under to capture the animal kingdom on a camera or a mobile device. This supports the RSPCA’s mission of inspiring everyone to create a better world for every animal.

The judges praised the emotion and composition of Anwen’s Puffin photograph ‘Daydreaming in the Chamomiles’, marvelling at how tough it is to photograph puffins and remarking on the beautiful, diffused background.

Winner Anwen from West Wales said: “It’s very surreal and amazing to have won. I think this will really encourage me to keep going and push to make this a career. I was amazed at being shortlisted as a finalist so to win makes me determined to keep going and keep improving. I’ve won a few local competitions but nothing on this scale!”

Having only started taking photographs as a serious hobby last year, Anwen explained that the puffin photo which was snapped on a long anticipated visit to Pembrokeshire’s famous Skomer Island was one of her favourite photographs.

Anwen explained that she can quite happily spend 10 hours in a bird hide, or out in a field in camouflage gear at sunrise to get the perfect photo.

She said: “That’s my happy place. It’s very relaxing to be out in nature and away from screens. It allows me to slow down a little bit. It can take a long time but it’s always worth it in the end and the buzz afterwards lasts all day or all week!

“I’ve always had a love of animals. We live in rural Wales so I’m surrounded by animals and nature. I think it’s really important to try and help protect nature through photography by showing both the magic and the fragility of nature to help make people realise how special nature really is. I see wildlife photography as a tool for conservation by helping to spread the word.”

Remarkably, a number of photos submitted by Anwen were recognised this year. As well as being overall winner, Anwen’s puffin photo also won the 12-15 category; while her red squirrel image ‘Sergeant Squirrel reporting for duty’ was commended in the same category. Another red squirrel image ‘Peckish’ was commended in the 12-15 mobile category and her swallows image placed runner-up in the City Life section. Finally, her ‘Puffin Paradise’ collection came runner-up in the Portfolio category meaning Anwen had a whopping seven images shortlisted in the final.

All entries are judged entirely anonymously, and separately from one another, which makes Anwen’s multiple successes this year even more staggering.

To mark the charity’s 200th birthday, the RSPCA added two new categories – ‘Better World’ which imagines what a better world for animals looks like, and ‘City Life’ – which highlights how animals are all around us and shows how we can live harmoniously together.

Chris Packham, TV presenter, RSPCA President and supporter of the awards since its inception over 30 years ago, said: “As ever, this is a wonderful portfolio of work. This competition always attracts very strong entries and my special congratulations goes to all the winners and of course, especially, to the overall winner.”

Chris, who couldn’t attend the ceremony in person but recorded a special video message for the winners, added: “Photography is a great way of communicating your love for, your passion for, your fascination for, and your concern for animals. I think it’s really important that we use that as a tool at this particular time when a lot of animals are in trouble. Being able to use your imagination, creativity and ingenuity to come up with something personally unique and powerful is a very important tool.”

This year’s awards were judged by a panel of photography experts, including wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby; former competition winner-turned-professional photographer Catriona Parfitt; professional wildlife photographer and photographic guide Ellie Rothnie; and RSPCA photographers Andrew Forsyth and Emma Jacobs. And for the first time this year – Fabian Rivers, known as the ‘Dready Vet’, an exotic animal and wildlife vet and RSPCA ambassador who appears on CBBC’s The Pets Factor.

Fabian said: “It’s a great honour to be involved in the inspiring RSPCA Young Photographer Awards this year. The calibre of entries has been staggering. Anwen’s puffin image is technically great, it’s sharp and evokes such lovely emotions. There’s a real story behind it and it was a clear winner for me.”

Other prize winners included last year’s talented overall winner Jamie Smart, aged nine, from Powys, Mid Wales, who won Pet Portraits with an image of her cat titled ‘Not Impressed’, and ‘Ready for Bed’ which features an owl won the Better World category, followed by her kingfisher image ‘City Fisher’ which won City Life. She also secured the top spot in the Under 12s category with ‘Rise of the Gannet’, and placed runner-up or commended with a further four images.

Other winners included;

Austin Lake, 13, from Devon, won Pet Personalities with his black and white photo of his cat,
Chris Wardell, 18, from Wiltshire, won Small World with his silhouetted spider, and the Portfolio category with a selection of back-lit fox photos,
Arlo Rautenbach, age 10 from Cornwall, won the Under 12 category with his photo of a slow worm,
Nathaniel Gingell, age 14 from Hampshire, won the 12-15 mobile category with a photo of a group of dogs,
Daisy Pipe, age 16 from Dorset, won the 16-18 mobile category with her tomato wasp image,
Anton Poon, 17, from Buckinghamshire, won the 16-18 category with an image of a robin

Sponsors of the competition are Natures Images (wildlife photography holidays) and Camtraptions (camera traps for wildlife photography). Winners in each category were awarded trophies and a selection of prizes at the Tower of London ceremony and as the Overall Winner, Anwen Whitehead received a weekend photography break with Natures Images. This fabulous prize- the Deer Rut Special – includes two nights’ accommodation for the winner and a parent/guardian.

The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2025 opens for entries on 6 May.

The full gallery of all the winning images can be viewed here.

Charity

Cardigan RNLI’s first all-female lifeboat exercise

Published

3 days ago

March 8, 2025

Tom Sinclair

FROM launch to recovery: for the first time in the history of Cardigan RNLI, the station’s D class inshore lifeboat has been launched, out on exercise and recovered by their 12 female volunteer crew ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March).

Currently, 15% of the RNLI’s operational crew – consisting of afloat crew, shore crew, launch authorities and lifeboat operations managers – are women. This International Women’s Day, the RNLI are celebrating all the incredible women who contribute to saving lives at sea and are hoping to inspire the next generation of lifesavers.

Cardigan Lifeboat Station in Ceredigion, west Wales currently have 12 operational volunteer lifeboat crew who are women. Meaning their operational crew is 33% female, 18% higher than the national average.

The station has a history of breaking boundaries, in 2011 Cardigan RNLI were the first lifeboat station in Wales to respond to a shout with an all-female lifeboat crew. The station is now celebrating not only being able to operate with a female lifeboat crew, but the entire process of launching, operating and recovery of the D class lifeboat can be executed by a crew of women.

These women have a variety of roles at the station, consisting of seven lifeboat crew (including one helm), 11 of the 12 are shore crew, two launch authorities, three Land Rover (launch) drivers – one of whom also drives the bendy tractor to launch the Atlantic 85 lifeboat.

Madeleine Barber (21) recently passed out as a D class Lifeboat Helm at Cardigan Lifeboat Station. Madeleine qualifying as a helm now allows for Cardigan’s D class to be launched and recovered exclusively by a crew of women.

Madeleine said: ‘Cardigan Lifeboat Station is a big part of my life, passing out as a helm and being a part of the crew means a lot to me. I’m continuing a family legacy, as my mum was a launch authority and my father and brother are already helms at the station.

‘I’m proud to be one of several women to helm Cardigan’s lifeboats over the last few years. International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to highlight the achievements of women in search and rescue and I hope that more women are inspired to get involved.’

This week a number of Cardigan RNLI crew members are attending the Women in Search and Rescue Training Week at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset. Amongst this group is, Louise Francis, Launch Authority, Head Launcher, Launch Vehicle Driver, Crew and Shore Crew at Cardigan Lifeboat Station, she said:

‘I’m so proud to be a crew member at a station where we can launch our D class with an all- female crew. As one of the longest serving volunteers at Cardigan RNLI with 17 years of service, it is wonderful to see so many women increasingly getting involved in operational roles.

‘Historically, operational roles like lifeboat crew have been perceived as roles for men. I hope we can continue to break boundaries showing we deserve a place on the lifeboat just as much as our fellow male lifeboat volunteers – and in doing so, inspire future generations of lifesavers to join this incredible charity.’

Charity

Teams search for vessel in distress near Strumble Head

Published

3 days ago

March 7, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A MAJOR search operation was launched off the north Pembrokeshire coast after an emergency distress signal was detected near Strumble Head and Pwll Deri.

St Davids RNLI all-weather lifeboat, Fishguard Coastguard Rescue Team, and Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 187 were deployed on Wednesday (March 5) following the activation of an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).

The beacon, a portable emergency transmitter used to pinpoint vessels in distress, was detected shortly before 5:30pm.

St Davids lifeboat crew conducted a sea search, while HM Coastguard Fishguard teams scoured the coastline. Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 187 carried out an aerial sweep of the area.

After an extensive search, and with additional details from HM Coastguard regarding the EPIRB registration, the incident was deemed a false alarm with good intent.

All rescue teams were stood down, and the lifeboat returned to station by 7:15pm.

Both the RNLI and HM Coastguard have since reminded boat owners about the proper disposal of emergency equipment, urging them to ensure outdated beacons are deactivated and disposed of correctly.

Charity

Successful food bank run raised funds for James Criddle Foundation

Published

1 week ago

March 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

SAUNDERSFOOT runners turned out in force on Sunday (Mar 2) to support the James Criddle Foundation, a Tenby-based food bank, in a successful event aimed at raising donations and awareness.

Now in its third year, the annual Food Bank Run saw runners and walkers take part in the well-attended event. Blessed with sunny weather, participants enjoyed a scenic route along the Heritage Trail to Pleasant Valley before returning to Wiseman’s Bridge Inn, which generously hosted the collection point in its beer garden.

The initiative was originally conceived by Sarah Don, who first organised the Food Bank Run at her club in Fareham, Hampshire. It was intended as a local effort to support food banks, but after seeing its impact, Sarah expanded the idea nationally and internationally in 2023, using social media to encourage running groups worldwide to get involved.

The James Criddle Foundation was founded in 2022 in memory of James Criddle, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident while living in Bali. His mother, Rachael, one of the foundation’s organisers, said: “James would willingly give his last to anyone in need and would be delighted with the Foundation and the ethos behind it. We love working with Saundersfoot Runners on the annual Food Bank Run – it’s such a friendly, happy occasion, even though the need for it remains a sad reflection of our times.”

The event was a great success, with participants donating food items and purchasing raffle tickets. The foundation also received £126 from Wiseman’s Bridge Inn, which organised a quiz night in support of the cause.

Those interested in next year’s event can find details on the Saundersfoot Runners Facebook page.