Whether a quick shot on a smartphone or camping out for the perfect moment with a camera and tripod, we all have the tendency to want to capture a stunning view in nature.
Throughout the month of March, many of those taking photos of Scarborough’s open spaces entered them in the Scarborough Land Trust’s “Marsh Madness” photo contest. Gift cards and a $250 grand prize — funded through donations — were at stake for the winners.
“The idea actually came from one of our volunteers,” said Andrew Mackie, executive director of the Scarborough Land Trust. “They suggested we do a photography contest. March is a great time for us. It’s before we’re out in the field busy with summer activities, and there was also March Madness basketball, so we just played off that.”
Over 160 photos were submitted by those enjoying the land trust’s conserved lands.
“This was our first time ever doing this,” Mackie said. “We didn’t quite expect that many, but it’s a nice problem to have. We’re very excited that we got such a great response.”
There was a People’s Choice award, determined by social media reactions, and three Judges’ Choice awards, judged on technical excellence, composition, originality and strength of subject matter for the categories “wildlife wonders,” “natural landscape,” and “living in nature” in addition to a grand prize.
Noah Gibb took home the grand prize and the wildlife wonders category for their photo “Avocet of Sunrise,” taken at Scarborough Marsh. Dan Kehlenbach and their photo “Stewart Brook” at Sewell Woods Preserve was awarded best photo in the natural landscape category, while Katy Ryan and their photo “Snowy Thrills” at Fuller Farm Preserve took home the win in the living in nature category.
The People’s Choice award went to Nancy Erb for her photo titled “Gold at the End of the Rainbow.” Runners-up included Sara Perrigo and her photo “Northern Lights Over Scarborough Marsh,” Jason Derrick’s photo “Great Egret Takeoff,” and Noah Gibb for their photo, “Newborn Plover.”
Local businesses provided gift card prizes, including Cabela’s, Evergreen Credit Union, Oak Hill Beverage, Burano’s, Cafe Luna, Lois’ Natural Marketplace, The Cheese Iron and Wild Birds Unlimited. The $250 grand prize was contributed by an anonymous donor.
The land trust’s focus is, naturally, on conservation and advocating for the protection of open spaces. While they spread awareness in many ways, Mackie said, a picture is worth a thousand words.
“There’s nothing quite like a photo to help get the message across of how important nature is, how important these open spaces are, and what they mean to us,” Mackie said. “We can write paragraphs and paragraphs — and we do — but it’s really the images that touch people when they can see what’s right in our backyard.”
To view the entire gallery of photos submitted, go to scarboroughlandtrust.org/marsh-madness-photo-contest-entries.
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