Staff Reports
“Earth Day Every Day” is the theme for the fifth annual Nature and Farm Photo Contest with this year being the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Two local land conservation groups sponsor the contest each year.
Liz Brownlee, executive director of Oak Heritage Conservancy, said her group along with the George Rogers Clark Land Trust are sponsoring this year’s contest.
The George Rogers Clark Land Trust is a local group that protects working farmland, and Oak Heritage Conservancy protects natural areas.
Kids of all ages are encouraged to enter the contest and submit photos that show Hoosiers caring for the natural world.
The youth categories for ages 18 and under have been expanded so kids can enter nature and farm photos, including photos they may have entered in the county fair.
More than 75,000 organizations host Earth Day programs every day of the year in 2020.
“We’re pretty excited that our Nature and Farm Photo Contest is one of those ‘Earth Day Every Day’ programs” Brownlee said. “We want people to get out and enjoy nature and reflect on how we can all do our part to care for the natural world here in southern Indiana.”
Michael Louden raises cattle and also volunteers on the George Rogers Clark Land Trust board.
Taking photos of the natural world nurtures the living pulse of the land around us that we sometimes get too busy to see, Louden said.
Judy Rust, an Oak Heritage Conservancy board member, said they want kids to fall in love with nature and are asking adults to encourage the children in their lives to snap some photos and enter.
Kids and adults will have six categories to choose from, including Earth Day Every Day, such as people planting trees, taking time to celebrate nature, farming sustainably and more.
People in Nature includes people enjoying the outdoors, like hiking, kayaking and playing in creeks.
Then the remaining categories are Forests, Creeks and Wetlands; Wildlife and Wildflowers; People on the Farm; and Animals on the Farm.
Photos are due Saturday and can be entered online, and there is no entry fee.
Around 12 winning photos will be chosen and exhibited around southeastearn Indiana this winter. Each winner will receive a large mounted print of their photo.
To enter, fill out the short entry form and upload a photo online at oakheritageconservancy.org/get-involved/photoexhibit.
The project is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.
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To enter the Nature and Farm Photo Contest, fill out the short entry form and upload a photo online at oakheritageconservancy.org/get-involved/photoexhibit.
For information, email [email protected].
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