THE quarrying industry’s contribution to nature recovery and biodiversity in the UK has been captured by industry workers and conservation volunteers in a photography competition.
The biennial Quarries & Nature Photo Competition, organised by the Mineral Products Association (MPA), celebrates the fauna and flora in and around active and restored quarries that produce minerals including sand, gravel, limestone and granite.
Conservationists, policymakers, MPA member companies and the winning photographers were amon guests attending an exclusive viewing at The Royal Society, London where RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight, presented the prizes to the winning photographers.
Beccy Speight said, “We have long known how important the role of restored quarries can be in helping nature recover, and photography is a wonderful way of bringing this to light. The quality of the images in the competition is outstanding – congratulations to all taking part.”
Mark Russell, MPA executive director for planning & mineral resources, added, “More new areas of nature conservation and biodiversity gain have been and continue to be created through quarry restoration than any other industrial activity. In partnership with conservation organisations, MPA members had created of over 8,300ha (83 sq km) of new priority habitat by the end of 2021, with a further 11,000ha (110sq km) in the pipeline.”
This year’s contest attracted record entries and the standard was described as ‘extremely high’ by the MPA judging panel. Criteria for selecting the winners included composition, relevance, setting, and the difficulty of capturing the image.
There are two categories to the competition – one for MPA member company employees and contractors, with another open to people who work voluntarily on restored quarry sites that have been transformed into popular nature reserves, country parks and sites of special scientific interest.
