This week, nine year old Brendan Harper, from Suffolk was named as the grand prize winner of the Velvet Young Nature Photographer of the Year Competition, in Association with WWF. The competition was judged by a panel including representatives from Velvet, WWF and celebrity judge Philippa Forrester. Brendan captured a frog and frogspawn in his garden pond.

Philippa said of the photograph: “The light is just perfect and gives the frog a twinkle in the eye. This is the overall winning photograph as it shows a wonderful image of life in the wild. A beautifully lit and composed study of a wild animal doing what it does with a smile!”

Brendan is the grand prize winner out of six finalists in three age categories. Within each age group there was a winner for ‘Species’ (animals and creatures) and one for ‘Spaces’ (habitats, landscapes etc).

The competition was launched to celebrate the partnership between SCA, the makers of Velvet family toilet tissue, and WWF. This partnership was forged after SCA came top in a WWF survey of the big 5 tissue manufacturers, who make up 75% of the European market, based on their environmental performance.*

With parents leading such busy lives it is important to still find time to do their bit for the environment – and making the right shopping choices is one key thing. In the SCA forests, for every tree used in production, three more are planted. So, with Velvet, there is all the quality and softness that families love, yet also the reassurance that you are being kind to the planet.

Philippa has always had a keen interest in conservation and is a long time supporter of WWF. She comments: “Velvet’s photography competition is a fantastic way of encouraging children to get closer to nature. Getting children interested in nature and the environment is so important these days and this fun competition means they can not only win some great prizes, but also develop their photography skills and learn more about species, spaces and conservation at the same time.”

To see highlights of the entries received, visit the online gallery at www.velvetbabymd.com/wwf