All 16 participating countries have already announced their national winners (you can look at the gallery of nominated photos), so now it’s time to introduce people who will select the winning photos — the international jury!
The international jury is composed of seven people representing different parts of the world and having different backgrounds. What they have in common is their passion for photography and enthusiasm to select the best photos of natural monuments. Meet our jurors:
Diego Delso is a Spanish electrical engineer, amateur photographer for 20 years and a Wikimedian since 2007. He has uploaded over 11,500 pictures to Wikimedia Commons. Almost half of those pictures have been recognized as Quality Images and around 150 pictures as Featured Pictures. He was a jury member of Wiki Loves Monuments in Spain (2012) and Thailand (2014) and part of the international jury in 2013.
Muhammad Mahdi is a photographer and an avid contributor to Wikimedia Commons. He was born in Tanzania near the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and is currently living in Bangalore, India. He has more than a hundred of featured pictures on both English Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, especially nature shorts. He was a jury member of Wiki Loves Monuments in 2012.
Julián Monge-Nájera is a Costa Rican ecologist, scientific editor, educator and photographer. For many years he has acted as scientific adviser for the BBC and the National Geographic Society. He is regional Editor of the United Nations’ Global Environmental Outlook (“GEO Report”) and author or co-author of 20 books published by several Costa Rican universities, Oxford University, the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and Tropical Nature Press.
Susanne Plank lives in Vienna and loves nature, photography and good looking photos of nature. She is 49 and she is active in Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects since 2011, both in writing articles and uploading photos. She is an active of Austrian photography community and was a member of pre-jury at various photo contests.
Oleg Zharii is a professional photographer from Ukraine. Apart of being professor of Mechanics in Kyiv National University, he is an experienced photographer and winner of numerous photo contests. He has authored a book on HDR and panoramic photography, several photo albums and had photo exhibitions in Kyiv, London (UK) and Nairobi (Kenya). He was a jury member of Wiki Loves Earth 2013 and Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in Ukraine.
[[User:Wikimk]] is coming from Macedonia and is interested in photography since the age of 15. He is an active contributor to Macedonian Wikipedia since 2008 and its administrator from 2009. He is one of the founders of Wikimedia Macedonia and was a jury member of Wiki Loves Monuments in Macedonia.
Wiki Loves Earth Ukraine Awards Ceremony took place in Golden Gate (Kyiv) on July 12, 2014.
416 members took part in Ukrainian part of the contest in 2014 and they uploaded more than 12 thousand photographs of 1324 natural monuments.
The best photograph was a snapshot from Crimea.
At the ceremony the winners were awarded in the nominations for the greatest number of natural monuments photographed in each of the regions of Ukraine and the best photos from all regions, as well as participants who photographed the highest number of objects in general in the country, and authors of the ten best photos.
Finally, we announce TOP-10 the best photos. These ten photographs will represent Ukraine at the international stage of the competition.
1st place. Demerdji Rocks, Crimea. Ukraine, Vitaliy Bashkatov, CC BY-SA 3.02nd place. Carpathian National Park, Ukraine, Balkhovitin. C BY-SA 3.03rd place. Aktovskyi canyon, Granite-steppe lands of Buh. Sak Anastasia, CC BY-SA 3.0Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, Volodymyr Hirash, CC BY-SA 3.0Aj-Petri Yayla, Crimea, Oleksandr Chernyh, CC BY-Sa 3.0Shatsky National Natural Park, Pavlo Mokrytskiy, CC BY-SA 3.0Carpathian National Park, Moahim, CC BY-SA 3.0Regional Landscape Park «Zuevskiy», Vitaliy Bashkatov, CC BY-SA 3.0Carpathian National Park, Robert-Erik, CC BY-SA 3.0Novyi Svit Sanctuary, Vitaliy Bashkatov, CC BY-SA 3.0
Today is the last competition day for Algeria, Germany, Ghana, India and the Netherlands! Last hours to contribute your photos to and to take part in competition in these countries’ contests!
Remember that Serbia will still have their site open until July 16 and Syria till August 1:)
Gorgeous news from Andorra – we can enjoy beautiful pictures from this green country!
Andorran team carries on an intrigue and refuses to give any details such as places of these photos. So, we can show you only winners without prize-list!
Lake “First Circus”. Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0Pond Meligar, Circus Pessons. Mtpla. CC BY-SA 3.0First Pond (Ordino). Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0
Second Pond Juclar. Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0Engolasters lake. Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0Sorteny River. Víctor. CC BY-SA 3.0
Os river passing through Bixessarri, Sant Julia de Loria, Andorra. Angela Llop. CC BY-SA 3.0
Tristaina river. Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0Inclés Valley, Canillo, Andorra. MARIA ROSA FERRE. CC BY-SA 3.0
Pond on Valley Inclés (Canillo). Ferran Llorens. CC BY-SA 3.0
Thanks to professional jury and their quick work we already know the winners of Brazilian Wiki Loves Earth photo contest 2014!
Please, look and relax, because these photos are amazing!
1 st place. National park Serra dos Órgãos. Автор: Carlos Perez Couto. CC BY-SA 3.02nd place. In “Praia da Feiticeira” beach, in Ilhabela-SP, a large boat seems to sail among the clouds. Roberto Pavezi Netto. CC BY-SA 3.03rd place. National park of Fernando de Noronha. Eduardo Muruci/ CC BY-SA 3.04th place. Forest in Algarobas. Diego Rego Monteiro. CC BY-SA 3.0
5th place. National park of Fernando de Noronha. Eduardo Muruci. CC BY-SA 3.06t place. Ecological park of Chico Mendes. A marijose. CC BY-SA 3.0
7th place. Municipal park in Rio Sucuriú. Bruno Rodrigues Rausch. CC BY-SA 3.0
8th place. Beach in national park of Fernando de Noronha. Eduardo Muruci. CC BY-SA 3.0
9th place. Rio view. Eduardo Gabão. CC BY-SA 3.010th place. Alto Araguaia. Diego Rego Monteiro. CC BY-SA 3.0
Germany is one of the participants who can receive your photos up to June 30.
You can take part in the contest with homemade photos with particular national parks, nature reserves, natural monuments, Nature Park, Biosphere Reserve and other objects from the list.
For your attention several beautiful places in Germany where you can take your photos and upload its to the Commons.
Especially protected are the spruce-dominated highland forests, mixed mountain forests of fir, beech and spruce trees and water meadow spruce woods in the valleys. Although a few remnants of ancient forest remain, the National Park area is still heavily influenced by the former forestry industry. Since nature is now left to take its course again, there is no human intervention when there are catastrophic events such as large scale bark beetle infestation. This resulted in the 1990s in the death of a portion of the high elevation forests and triggered controversial discussions amongst the residents of the National Park, which highlighted differing attitudes to the wilderness. As the result of a compromise, bark beetle is now fought in the expansion area.
The Bavarian Forest National Park, Marco Schönberger. CC BY-SA 3.0
he island has largely retained its intended character as an idyll of nature: in addition to several free-ranging peacocks, other native and exotic birds can be found in captivity, complemented by a rich variety of flora. The entire island is designated as a nature reserve and since 1990 has been a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, along with the several other castles and parks in the Potsdam/Berlin area. It can only be reached by a small ferry, but is a popular tourist destination. It is administered by the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten (SPG).
Pfaueninsel, Till Krech from Berlin, Germany. CC BY-SA 3.0
Rare animals of the Harz National Park include the Dipper, the Black Stork,Peregrine Falcon, the European Wildcat and especially the Eurasian Lynx. The last lynx in the Harz Mountains had been shot in 1818, but in 1999 a project for reintroducing was established. Since 2002 several wild lynxes gave birth. An attempt to return the Capercaillie (Auerhuhn) however did not succeed.
The Harz National Park, Akelei. CC BY-SA 3.0
All information about Wiki Loves Earth in Deutschland you can find here.
Today the participant of Wiki Loves Earth open its Wikimedia Commons page for your photos!
Remember that the rules are common for all countries! So, if you have your own beautiful Serbian pictures of natural heritage – you are welcome to share it with Wikipedia.
Ghanaian team of Wiki Loves Earth international photo contest has decided to continue acceptance of photos up to June 30, 2014. So, all participants who want to take part in it have a chance to upload their works during this month.
The contest started May 1, 2014. During this time we received 540 beautiful photos.
Ada river, Ghana. Author: Dieu-Donné Gameli. CC BY-SA 3.0
Terms of participation are samr for all countries. Only sites of natural heritage can be different. In Ghana there are:
There are fantastic prizes to be won by the top 10 pictures. All these 10 pictures will qualify for the next stage Wiki Loves Earth (World) prizes when they fall in the top15 photos they are once again awarded with prizes from the Wiki Loves Earth International team.
Visit one of amazing Ghanaian national parks, take photos and upload them to the Wikimedia Commons.
Boti Falls, Eastern Region, Ghana. Author: magwanwagwan. CC BY-SA 3.0
Mole National Park is Ghana‘s largest wildlife refuge. The park is located in northwest Ghana on grassland savanna and riparianecosystems at an elevation of 150 m, with sharp escarpment forming the southern boundary of the park. The park’s entrance is reached through the nearby town of Larabanga. The Lovi and Mole Rivers are ephemeral rivers flowing through the park, leaving behind only drinking holes during the long dry season. This area of Ghana receives over 1000 mm per year of rainfall. A long-term study has been done on Mole National Park to understand the impact of human hunters on the animals in the preserve.
Mole National Park. Ghana. Author: Sean Moran. CC BY-SA 3.0
The Bui National Park is found in Ghana. It was established in 1971. This site is 1820 km². The reserve is notable for its Hippopotamuspopulation in the Black Volta. The endangered black and white colobus monkey and a variety of antelopes and birds are also present. Part of the park will be inundated by the reservoir of the Bui Dam, which has been under construction since 2009. The filling of the reservoir is expected to begin in 2011.
The Bui bayou is a wet land found in the brong ahafo region of Ghana. Author: Kelsdark. CC BY-SA 3.0
Digya National Park is the second largest national park and the oldest protected area in Ghana. It is located in the Brong-Ahafo Region. Digya National Park was created in 1900 as a protected area, the first in Ghana. The park is home to at least six primate species and elephants belonging to some of the less studied species in Africa. The elephant population in the park is the second largest in Ghana. There are also manatees and clawless otters in arms of Lake Volta that extend into Digya National Park. More than 236 species of birds live in the park. This park is the only wildlife territory in Ghana to border on Lake Volta, the largest man-made body of water in the country.
Campfire at the White Volta, Ghana. Author: Sean Moran. CC BY-SA 3.0
Kakum National Park, located in the coastal environs of the Central Region of Ghana. The uniqueness of this park lies in the fact that it was established at the initiative of the local people and not by the State Department of wildlife who are responsible for wildlife preservation in Ghana.The most notable endangered species of fauna in the park are Diana monkey, giant bongo antelope, yellow-backed duiker andAfrican elephant. It is also an Important Bird Area recognized by the Bird Life International with the bird area fully overlapping the park area. The bird inventory confirmed 266 species in the park, including eight species of global conservation concern. One of these species of concern is the white-breasted guineafowl. Nine species of hornbill and the African grey parrot have been recorded. It is very rich in butterflies as well, and a new species was discovered in 1993. As of 2012, the densest population of forest elephants in Ghana is located in Kakum.
Bia National Park is a national park in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also a biosphere reserve with a 563 square kilometer resource reserve. It has some of Ghana’s last remnants of relatively untouched forest complete with its full diversity of wildlife. Some of the tallest trees left in West Africa are found in this national park.
Kyabobo National Park, Ghana. Author: Sean Moran. CC BY-SA 3.0
The contest Wiki Loves Earth will focus on the National Parks in the Netherlands. Pictures from those areas (if submitted between May 1 and June 30, 2014) will compete for the prizes. Join! We look forward to your contribution.
Netherlands has twenty national parks. Together they tell the story of the Dutch countryside. The parks are full details of the Dutch nature to be found: dunes, woods, moors, fens, tidal water, stream valleys and lakes. And the residents vary by park: special birds, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians, like red deer, badgers, beavers, otters and seals their place in the parks.
Lytse Mar in the Alde Feanen. Author: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma. CC BY-SA 3.0
17 specific sites in the Netherlands designated as a national park. In addition, there are also two private national parks (NP and NP De Hoge Veluwe Veluwe) and the cross-border park Zoom Kalmthoutse Heath. The nature reserves are each contiguous and cover an area of at least a thousand acres. For the Dutch nature they form a whole: the system of National Parks in the Netherlands. The owners, managers and other stakeholders of the parks are jointly responsible for the protection and development of the quality of nature.
Jan Durkspolder, Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC-BY-SA 3.0
The national parks focus on:
Protection and development of nature and landscape
Outdoor recreation
Education and information
Research
Early in the morning of October, sun coming up, at the Hoge Veluwe. Author: Ruby van Assendelft, CC-BY-SA 3.0