Surrey Heath’s Mayor, Councillor Helen Whitcroft, joined Mindenhurst’s monthly community drop-in at the project office on Wednesday 31st August to announce the winner of this year’s Wild Photography Competition.

The local wildlife competition was launched during Wild Week which saw a range of activities held across Mindenhurst. The competition was open to all residents living on or around the development site at Deepcut.

Local resident, Jurgita Valaitytė-Gulbiniene, captured the winning photograph which showed a deer peering through the grass. Jurgita was awarded a framed print of her photograph plus a National Trust voucher worth £40.

Mayor Helen Whitcroft said: “It was such a joy to see all the wonderful photographs of local wildlife which our talented community have taken, and I would like to thank everyone who took part. As the quality was very high, it was difficult to pick just one, however, I am very happy to announce that Jurgita Valaitytė-Gulbiniene is the winner of the Mindenhurst Wild Photography Competition ’22, with a striking photograph of a deer. I was immediately drawn to the image since they are so associated with our local green spaces. The soft focus in the foreground really draws your eye to the deer in the centre which is looking directly back at the viewer.”

Niki Dufour, Community Relations Manager at Mindenhurst, said: “The Wild Photography Competition is just one in a host of events we’ve been running this year to bring the community together and celebrate our beautiful surroundings. We were delighted by the enthusiastic response to the competition and the standard of the entries, residents can view this year’s standout entries and find out how to get involved in other events by visiting the Mindenhurst website or liking our Facebook page.”

View all the submissions below:

Here is a roundup of the best bits from a full week of getting up close and personal with mother nature and the very special wildlife in Deepcut.

Wild Week kicked off with an insightful talk by Surrey Wildlife Trust who told residents about the different animals living in the area, how, where and when is best to spot them, and how to help local species survive and thrive. Surrey Wildlife Trust also led a bat walk later in the week, where the group got to see and hear Pipistrelle and Soprano bats as they flew overhead catching insects.

Families enjoyed taking part in a minibeast hunt, discovering all sorts of wonderful bugs and creatures that live in the Central SANG with expert assistance from Hannah O’Kelly, Environmental Advisor at Mindenhurst. For anyone who missed it, there will be a second hunt taking place on 24^th August at 1pm on the Village Green.

The wildlife photography competition launched during Wild Week will be running until 24^th August, details on how to take part can be found online here: mindenhurst.co.uk/events/wild-photography-competition

Thank you to everyone who took part, and to Surrey Wildlife Trust, for making it such a fascinating and fun experience.

For information on future events, visit: Mindenhurst.co.uk/events, @MindenhurstDeepcut on Facebook, or email a member of the team at hello@mindenhurst.co.uk