Wild Ones mission is all about educating and inspiring people to cultivate community and together take action to heal our environment through landscaping with native plants. We count on the photos you submit to the contest to help us inspire others to make this critical shift in their landscaping practices! One photo is said to be worth a thousand words, but perhaps one photo could be much more valuable than that and instead help restore a thousand acres!
This year’s photo contest seeks to emphasize the joy, the connections, the journey, the beauty, and the healing experienced by both the people and the land through the native landscaping movement. We hope you share your valuable photos with us, especially of your home and local landscapes and the community that has been cultivated around those projects.
Entries for the 2025 Contest will be accepted from July 1st through 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, August 29th, 2025.
By entering your photographs in our photo contest, you are helping Wild Ones further our mission. Wild Ones may use your photos in print and electronically, in the media, publications, and platforms, as we see fit such as for educational and promotional purposes, so that others may be inspired to learn about native plants and natural landscaping.
After the contest, members will be able to view the entries online and vote for the people’s choice award. Additionally, winning photographs will be posted on social media and shared via email to members for everyone to view them.
For more info, please visit Contest Rules and Guidelines.
2025 Categories
Living Things – Photo must feature either native flora or fauna, which may include pollinators, human subjects and non-pollinator wildlife. Plants and wildlife must be native to the United States or Canada. (Category Entry Limit: 3 Photos)
Example of LIVING THINGS entry
Photographer: Marilyn Hessinger
Chapter: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Photo Story: This endangered butterfly was seen on a guided tour at Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center in Pennsylvania. This protected grassland site provides the butterfly with its host plant the arrow-leaf violet (Viola sagittata).
Home Landscapes – Photos must feature native plants and natural landscaping around a private residence, buildings or facilities as part of the subject. Examples might include home yards, community centers, village squares, local schools, libraries, etc., that are landscaped using native plants. Emphasis must be on the natural landscaping but include some element of a man-made structure. (Category Entry Limit: 3 Photos)
Example of HOME LANDSCAPES entry
Photographer: John Magee
Chapter: NoVA
Photo Story: This is a very neomodern home set into the middle of a wooded area. We used a form of minimalism in order to tie the existing landscape to the new home. Their children call the sedge “Monster Fur.”
Signs of Spring – Photos should highlight the renewal and beauty of the spring season through native plants and natural landscapes. This may include spring ephemerals, early-blooming trees and shrubs, emerging foliage, native wildlife interacting with the landscape. What are the first signs of life in your home habitat? Submissions should capture the essence of spring’s transformation and the hope it brings for native ecosystems. (Category Entry Limit: 3 Photos)
Example of SPRING EPHEMERALS entry
Photographer: Terri Joyce
Chapter: Tennesee Valley
Photo Story: A dear fellow WildOnes member took me to a beautiful large patch of trout lilies along the Rock Creek section of the Cumberland Trail
Events – Photo must feature both native flora and at least one human subject to demonstrate a connection between the person/people and the native plants that occur at public Wild Ones events. (Category Entry Limit: 3 Photos)
Example of EVENTS entry
Photographer: Quyen Edwards
Chapter: Kalamazoo Area
Photo Story: A group went on a hike through Chipman Preserve looking for butterflies in August 2023. We found 17 species that day including monarch, viceroy, red-spotted purple, American copper, grey hairstreak, and eastern tailed blue butterflies.
Questions
What is a photo story?
The photo story serves as a textual accompaniment to an image, providing additional context, backstory, or interpretation. It delves deeper into the scene depicted, offering insights into the subject, setting, emotions, or events captured. A photo story can provide details that may not be immediately apparent from the image alone, helping viewers to better understand the significance or message behind the photograph. See examples of photo stories above from each category.
Other questions?
Review all rules and guidelines. Questions and inquiries about contest rules can be e-mailed to support@wildones.org. Do not submit entries to this email address. All entries must be received via the submission form.