County Antrim photographer, Terry Cooper, was in London on Friday (3 September) to see his winning ‘Postcards from the Park’ photo, White on Black, exhibited at Southwark Park Café Gallery and to meet celebrity photographer Mike McCartney and environmentalist Chris Packham.  The competition was organised by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) in partnership with parks charity GreenSpace.

Chosen as the Northern Ireland winner of this UK-wide competition, Terry from Carrickfergus, photo hugely impressed the judges who included Mike McCartney.  His photo has also been turned into postcards which are available at Lottery-funded venues and parks. 

Terry Cooper said:
“I’m delighted to have won the Northern Ireland category of the ‘Postcards from the Park’ competition; it's so exciting to have my photo exhibited in a London gallery. I spend a lot of time in Victoria Park mostly to walk and watch the wildlife. I took this photo in October 2009 and what inspired me was the lighting and the detail in the swan’s wings."
Environmentalist and presenter, Chris Packham, said:

“We’re so lucky in the UK to have such wonderful and varied green spaces which not only offer massive benefits in terms of health, quality of life and well-being, but also offer brilliant opportunities to get up close and personal with nature.  It’s essential we keep on investing in them as there is still plenty of work to be done to look after them all properly. Every community deserves to be near a great park!”

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said on behalf of HLF and BIG:

"Parks are vital places that give people an opportunity to escape the daily hustle and bustle and enjoy the fresh air. The huge number of photographs that were entered for this competition shows just how popular they are right across the country. That is why HLF and BIG support parks with such a massive investment of our funding.”

Loving our public parks
‘Postcards from the Park’ highlights the unique part that parks play in community life and promotes HLF and BIG’s joint funding programme, ‘Parks for People’, which has to date invested £600m in improving and transforming the UK’s public parks and green spaces.

Notes to Editors

Information sourced by HLF

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, public parks and historic places to archaeology, species and skills, HLF invests in every part of our diverse heritage.  HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK. 

The Parks for People programme uses Lottery funds to support the regeneration, conservation and increased enjoyment of public parks. The programme aims to improve the local environment and put parks firmly back at the heart of community life. In England the two Lottery Funds have been working in partnership from 2006 to deliver a multi-million pound investment in public parks of £150m. Over the past three years, the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has invested £80m (in England only) with £70m coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the UK.

HLF has invested £527m in over 530 historic public parks, gardens, squares and promenades right across the UK.

Big Lottery Fund (BIG)
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) rolls out close to £2million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project. BIG, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.  The Big Lottery Fund and its predecessor bodies have invested more than £1.3billion in environmental initiatives. 

GreenSpace is a registered charity which works to improve parks and green spaces by raising awareness, involving communities and creating skilled professionals. 

‘Biodiversity is Life’ - HLF and BIG - helping to safeguard our natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss. 

Further information

Katie Owen, HLF press office, on tel: 020 7591 6036 Out of hours mobile: 07973 613820.
Julie Halliday (HLF NI) on E: julieh@hlf.org.uk or mobile 07733 100674.