News

World Wetlands Day Mallee photo competition

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 06:46:00

People are being encouraged to share the beauty of their favourite Mallee wetland in a photographic competition to mark World Wetlands Day next month.

The competition, in conjunction with ABC Open, offers a GoPro video camera to the winning photographer.
World Wetlands Day, an event first celebrated in 1997, aims to increase awareness about the importance of wetlands in the ecological cycle, the environment and to community wellbeing.  It is celebrated on February 2 each year to mark the anniversary of the 1971 signing in the Iranian city of Ramsar of a Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. 
Deputy chairperson of the Mallee CMA Dr John Cooke says community involvement in World Wetlands Day is growing each year in the Mallee.
“We’re extremely fortunate that we have any number of amazing wetlands in the Mallee region, including the Hattah Lakes system, which is one of only 11 sites in Victoria listed on the Ramsar convention,” Dr Cooke said.
“While the Hattah Lakes is our best-known, there are literally dozens of wetlands across the Mallee, and we’re inviting people to enter the photograph that’s particularly special or beautiful to them,” he said.
“This year’s theme is ‘Wetlands for our future: Sustainable Livelihoods’, and the aim is to demonstrate the role of wetlands now and their future role for the wellbeing of humanity,” Dr Cooke said.
“The role of wetlands in nature is to improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, act as sinks for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and provide a home for plants, birds, fish and frogs, many of which rely on the regular flooding cycles of wetlands to reproduce,” he said.
“They provide essential habitat for rare and important species such as the endangered Growling Grass frog, Freckled duck, and the Murray cod, and they’re important stopover sites for many migratory birds.
“But wetlands also provide a fantastic range of shared benefits for us as a community, through recreational activities like fishing, bushwalking, nature photography, canoeing, bike riding and camping.
“That’s why we’re asking people to celebrate World Wetlands Day with us by taking a vibrant, interesting and original photo of their local wetland to capture a moment expressing why the wetland is special to them.”
Entries in the competition must be registered at ABC Open: https://open.abc.net.au.  When uploading their photos, photographs must be tagged #malleewetland
Photos will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, artistic merit and subject matter relevance to wetlands within the Mallee and Riverland regions.  The winner of the GoPro HD Hero4 Action Video Camera (Silver Edition) will be announced on 1 March 2016.