Pollination Guelph's annual photo contest back on

So, you think you have a good eye for pollinators? Put that together with a good eye for photography and you might have a shot at some prizes in the Pollination Guelph photo contest. The Mar. 1 deadline is fluttering and creeping ever closer.

Pollination Guelph is a volunteer-run charitable organization that sees Guelph as a model community for the protection of pollinators and their habitat, and as a hub for promoting pollinator knowledge.

The group works to conserve and develop pollinator habitat, and to spread awareness and knowledge of the role pollinators play in environmental sustainability everywhere.

The organization is looking for your best shots of pollinators or pollinator-friendly gardens taken in Ontario or eastern Canada.

Clare Irwin is the co-chair of Pollination Guelph. The photo contest, she said, has been held each year for a number of years, and is back by popular demand.

“It’s been very well received, and we’ve always had lots of entries,” Irwin said. “People want to take the chance to show off their good photos of pollinators or flowers, so we’ve continued to do it each year.”

There will be first and second place prizes in both categories in the form of gift certificates from contest sponsors Foto Source Guelph, Play with Clay, and Borealis Grille and Bar Guelph.

Volunteer judges will go through the submissions in the two categories and narrow them down. The honey of the crop will be selected in time for the 10th annual Pollination Symposium which happens Mar. 25 at the Guelph Curling Club, where prizes will be given out. The top 10 entries will be displayed at the day-long symposium.

“So, the attendees can go around and look at all the pictures, which are usually pretty good,” Irwin added. “We’ve continued to do this because people have kept asking us for it.”

Send your best shots to pollinationguelph@gmail.com by the deadline. Providing a link to an electronic album like DropBox is an option for large photo files. A maximum of five digital photos per category may be submitted per person.

Here’s what you need to include with your submission: Your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, category you are entering, and photo description. Put all of this information in the body of the email.

Photos in the pollinator category must picture a pollinator – bee, fly, butterfly, moth, beetle or hummingbird are some possibilities, at basically any stage of life. They could be on a flower or host plant, in a hive or nest.

The pollinator-friendly category could be anything from a wild garden to a formal garden, interesting landscaping or overwintering sites. Gardens with native plants are preferred.

By submitting photographs to the contest you give Pollination Guelph the right to use your picture for future purposes, whether on the organization’s website, in presentations, in outreach materials, or banners. The photographer will be credited where possible, and copyright remains with the photographer.

“It has been a success, so we’ve continued to do it,” Irwin added. “It’s become part of the annual event.”

The contest, she said, helps to foster a deeper awareness and understanding of pollinators.

This year’s symposium is entitled Butterflies, Bees, and You. It will feature a talk by author Lorraine Johnson on including native edible plants in your pollinator gardens, as well as the screening of a film and discussion on the decline of the bumble bee population.

Visit www.pollinationguelph.ca to learn more and register.