Enter the photography contest on the Oak Ridges Moraine
The Moraine Through Your Eyes

Dust off your camera and click your way across the Oak Ridges Moraine for the second Moraine in Focus Photo Contest.

Organized by the Monitoring the Moraine (MTM) and Caring for the Moraine (CMP) projects, this theme of this year's contest is The Moraine Through My Eyes.

The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically significant landform extending 160 kilometers from Caledon in the west to Northumberland in the east. Its forests and fields, wetlands and kettle lakes, deep sand and gravel aquifers form the headwaters to more than 65 river and streams.

"This contest is about raising awareness of the Oak Ridges Moraine," commented Kate Potter, project coordinator for Caring for the Moraine. "Taking a closer look at the landscape encourages exploration and appreciation of the area by residents and visitors. We all benefit from the moraine as it supplies drinking water, cleans our air and provides incredible biodiversity."

Subcategories for the 2008 contest include the Seasonal Moraine (the moraine in all four seasons), the View From Down Here (small inhabitants of the moraine like insects, plants, a children's perspective), the View From Up Here (sweeping landscapes, birds in flights, aerials), In Our Hands (stewardship of the moraine, planting projects, trail building, bird box construction, human interaction) and My Moraine (a human perspective of what the moraine means to the photographer personally).

There were more than 500 entries submitted in last year's contest. In addition to prizes awarded in specific categories, entrants' photos were used by project partners in displays, brochures and downloadable screensavers.

"Photographs act as connection points between humans and the natural world," remarked Caledon resident Debbe Crandall, executive director of the Save The Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition.

She and Sonia Dong, interim executive director of Citizens' Environment Watch agree that the Moraine in Focus contest is a great way to showcase the magnificence of the moraine while building support for its long-term protection.

The contest opened April 1 and closes Dec. 31. Get involved and let the world see the moraine through your eyes!

Full contest details are available at www.monitoringthemoraine. ca

This contest has been made possible by support from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation and the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation.