Sustainability Photographer of the Year 2025: The Winners

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Sustainability Photographer of the Year competition, as were announced during our End of Year celebration at Osler House on 19 June 2025. 

The competition is a fan favourite each year, and this year was no exception with over 140 entries submitted. The theme, “It made me think” invited participants to share images that inspire reflection and spark conversation around sustainability. 

This competition is a fantastic way for us to engage with both staff and students, while also sending a powerful message about climate and environmental awareness. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for amateur photographers to showcase their creativity and talent. 

Thank you to everyone who took part, and congratulations to the winners. Keep clicking, keep thinking and keep inspiring. 

Winner

A warm winter day by Mingde Du, Postdoctoral Researcher, Materials

This photo was taken in University Park in November 2024. As nature turns to warm colours to brighten the gloomy winter, let us respond with kindness and protect it in return.

Second place

Autumn Floods by Katie Brown, Head of Communications, Lady Margaret Hall 

This scene was breathtakingly beautiful, with stunning, vividly colourful reflections on the water’s surface—reflections made possible only by some of the most severe autumn flooding we’ve seen in years. A moment of pure beauty, yet also a sobering reminder of the growing impact of climate change. 

Third place

Is it a bird? by Sara Reevell, Facilities Officer, Trinity College 

The fantastic experience which is the murmuration of starlings. Happening in the tress bordering a car park in the Business Park just off the Cowley Rd. It is an amazing sight, especially in such an urban setting - the speed of movement and build-up of numbers of birds, the shapes they create. Awesome. 

Runner up 

Just Enough to Drink - Sustainability isn't just our burden by Lars Bathe-Peters, DPhil in Particle Physics (3rd year), Trinity College   

This squirrel is putting a lot of effort into drinking water. It made me think about resources becoming sparser in a less sustainable world. 

Runner up

Encounter at Dusk by Jin Ho Chung, Researcher, Transport Studies Unit (TSU), School of Geography and the Environment 

At dusk in a flooded Port Meadow, a man stands on dry ground as a dog wade through rising water. Their quiet encounter at the water’s edge reminds us: climate change is unfolding unevenly, and time is running out - for all species.