Winner, adults category: What’s on the Menu by Sam Oakes, Richmond, Surrey.

“Our everyday decisions impact not only our local environment but those distant from us, in this case the watery home of the puffin. Human decisions are depleting sand eel availability and changing the fish species on the puffin’s menu, day in, day out, an impact all too plain to see whilst I spent several weeks out on the Isle of May [in Scotland] this summer.”
Photograph: Sam Oakes/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, adults category: Frozen Flowers by Charlotte Kenchington, Littleport, Cambridgeshire.

“A burst of freezing rain coated these seed heads in a layer of crystal-clear ice. Such weather is highly unusual where these flowers grow, but we can expect more extremes of weather as our climate changes.”
Photograph: Charlotte Kenchington/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, adults category: Female Slowworm by Margret Powell-Joss, Oban, Scotland.

“I was delighted to find slowworms on my then new property four years ago. This prime female in my organic compost heap shows that they continue to thrive – despite a cat’s presence on their patch.”
Photograph: Margret Powell/NERC Science photo competition

Winner, age 11-17 category: Chimpanzee by Ed Thurlow, 15, Churchill Academy, North Somerset.

“I took this picture on a family visit to Chester zoo. My environment should be cared for, one where humans and animals live symbiotically. In an attempt to show this I have depicted the chimp suppressed in a dark environment, a symbol for the pressure our selfish industry places on animals – this species of chimp is critically endangered. I have darkened (burned) the surrounding areas using Photoshop and reduced the saturation to help symbolise human impact on the environment.”
Photograph: Ed Thurlow/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, age 11-17 category: Sunset over Science by Belinda Bateman, 17, Emmbrook senior school, Wokingham, England.

“I believe this image captures my environment because it shows the new industrial and modern era whilst also portraying mother nature. The sunset represents the beauty of nature and this photo has no filters which shows that nature can be absolutely beautiful. However in the middle of this photo the wind turbines show the manmade and science side of our environment.”
Photograph: Belinda Bateman/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, age 11-17 category: Midnight Mushrooms by Charlotte Flower, 12, Alcester grammar, Warwickshire, England.

“Even unwanted things in the garden can be inspiringly beautiful and eerie when viewed from the right angle.”
Photograph: Charlotte Flower/NERC Science photo competition

Winner, Nerc colleagues, families and friends category: Wild but Fragile by Emma Johnston, Swindon.

“This photo is of Torres del Paine national park, part of the Andes mountain range in southern Chile. The three granite towers, the highest peak being 2,884m, are iconic remnants of a 13m-year-old laccolith (a magmatic intrusion between sedimentary layers which has cooled and solidified slowly). The site was declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco, yet despite this, the park is under increasing pressure from modern-day threats, such as rapidly increasing tourism and climate change.”
Photograph: Emma Johnston/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, Nerc colleagues, families and friends category: Twas-Brillig by Carol Cotterill, Edinburgh.

“The countryside around us is magical and ethereal, especially when wreathed in mist. This image was taken in my field area of the Lake District, where myself and three PhD students have been looking at the evolution of the landscape, and its shaping by ice, water and then man.”
Photograph: Carol Cotterill/NERC Science photo competition

Shortlisted, Nerc colleagues, families and friends category: Birchlight by Carol Cotterill, Edinburgh.

“Even in the worst weather there is beauty in the stark landscape around us. Birch trees clinging to the side of a glacial finger lake shone through the rain as we surveyed the lake during research into glacial processes.”
Photograph: Carol Cotterill/NERC Science photo competition