Welcome to Planet Suffolk

Can Suffolk photographers help draw attention to global environmental challenges by telling the story of our own local landscapes? It's a question professional photographer Gill Moon set out to answer

Professional landscape photographer Gill Moon has spent many years photographing Suffolk, particularly the coast where she lives. Through her camera lens she's captured the county's wild beauty, its moods and seasons, and the continual changes wrought by nature and humans.

Gill's latest project, Planet Suffolk - love letters from a changing world is about Suffolk, why we love
it, why it's special, the environmental issues confronting it, changes that have occurred and changes that might yet happen. With the aim of promoting a deeper connection with, and care for, the landscapes of Suffolk, Gill invited people to submit visual stories that convey their thoughts about the county in the face of global climate change and environmental decline.

Butley by Stephen Ball, contributor to Planet Suffolk (Image: Stephen Ball,)

Havergate Hares by Zoe Harris, contributor to Planet Suffolk (Image: Zoe Harris)

Chelsworth by Christopher Cullen, contributor to Planet Suffolk (Image: Copyright Chris Cullen (+44)1449-740960)

Dominic Whiten's Aldeburgh, contributor to Planet Suffolk (Image: Dominic Whiten)

The result is a collection of 36 personal stories and photographs from around Suffolk that tell of people's connections with the landscape, their love for our countryside and the wildlife that inhabits it, their memories of the past, and their care and concern for the future. Says Gill: "It's about all the things that are affecting the world right now, but told from a local viewpoint through the eyes of local people."

Gill_Moon's Butley Black Poplar for Planet Suffolk (Image: GILL MOON)

Jamie Smith's Sizewell for Planet Suffolk (Image: Jamie Smith)

Covehithe by Michael Cant for Planet Suffolk (Image: Michael Cant)

Silver-washed Fritillary by Rosey Nicholls for Planet Suffolk (Image: Rosey Nicholls)

Shingle Street by Ruth Grindrod for Planet Suffolk (Image: Ruth Grindrod)

Gill had the idea for the project during the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow. "I was wondering about the local take on the issues facing the planet," says Gill. "I was curious to know if people were concerned or ambivalent or whether they just felt powerless to make any changes. The summit also got me thinking about photography, and our role as photographers and storytellers.

"I believe that environmental change begins at home with knowledge and awareness. As photographers we have the ability and a duty to tell our visual stories and communicate with others what we see and what is important to us.”

You can see more of Planet Suffolk at gillmoon.com/projects/planet-suffolk

Gill Moon's Planet Suffolk (Image: Gill Moon)