{"id":68064,"date":"2024-04-04T13:37:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T17:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=68064"},"modified":"2024-04-04T13:57:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T17:57:58","slug":"photo-contest-celebrates-habitat-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/latest-news-and-updates\/photo-contest-celebrates-habitat-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo Contest Celebrates Habitat at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2023 contest winner: Ruby Crowned Kinglet. Photo by Cathy Bester<\/p><\/div>\n

Conserving Carolina invites you to enter the fifth annual Habitat at Home spring photo contest<\/a>, which celebrates the beautiful and wild things we can see right outside our door. The contest was created to inspire more people to restore natural habitat at their homes, as well as places like schools, businesses, and houses of worship. The contest starts April 5 and runs through May 15.<\/p>\n

Conserving Carolina is looking for photos that showcase ways that people are restoring natural habitat\u2014such as native plant gardens or bird boxes. They are also looking for photos of animals spotted around homes and other buildings. This can include the full range of wildlife from the smallest to the largest. In past contests, people have shared photos of lizards, toads, turtles, snakes, butterflies, moths, beetles, bees, birds, deer, foxes, bobcats, bears, squirrels, and much more!<\/p>\n

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2021 contest winner: Bluebirds. Photo by Denise Booher<\/p><\/div>\n

Communications and marketing director Rose Lane, says \u201cThe contest is a way to inspire more people to restore wildlife habitat where they live. That\u2019s important because animals need a lot more habitat than they can find in parks and nature preserves. We\u2019ve seen major declines in insect and bird populations because they don\u2019t have enough habitat\u2014and that affects all other wildlife. So if you restore some natural habitat at your place, you\u2019re doing something important for nature. And you can see the results. That\u2019s good for people because now we have more awe and beauty in our lives. And kids have more to explore and discover in their own backyards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contest is a part of Conserving Carolina\u2019s ongoing Habitat at Home campaign. Through seasonal columns, online outreach, and in-person speaker events, Conserving Carolina shares tips on how to improve habitat where you live. For example, you can:<\/p>\n