Winners of an inaugural photo competition designed to foster a greater appreciation of the local environment have been announced.
The Department of Environment organised the Biodiversity Photo Competition as part of a slate of activities to mark International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22 and World Environment Day on June 5.
A total of 46 participants entered, submitting local, eye-catching photos of biodiversity. A combined amount of $2,000 in prize money was up for grabs.
Sherrel Charles placed first, followed by Colvis Wilson and Kelisha Brown.
Charles told Observer she was elated to be able to express her love of the natural world through the competition.
“I am very happy that I won the competition and it means a lot to me because it involves two things that I love the most – photography and environmental science. I learned about the competition through one of my friends; he tagged me in the post on Instagram and I was like, hey I’ll enter, and he encouraged me to enter as well.
“I actually am studying ecology as a major and a minor in environmental science at UWI and so when I got the opportunity to apply my skills and my knowledge, I was like, this is an awesome chance to do so. I was able to put to the test what I learned at UWI,” Charles added.
The full list of winners and their work can be found on the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment’s Facebook page.
The department also held a Facebook Live talk on invasive alien species and conducted several media appearances to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and the work being carried out to protect it. Email [email protected] or call 462-4625 for more information.