Photography hobbyists will dust off their cameras and capture the beauty of our local environment for the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition this month.

Open until 29 September, the competition, which is run by Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils, encourages people to submit their most striking, engaging and enticing images of local native flora, wildlife and natural scenery taken from within the Macarthur area.

The three categories for the 2023 competition are:

• Caring for Country – People helping the environment, cultural connection, life, waterways. Photograph the positive impacts, actions and behaviours of people helping the Macarthur environment. This can include picking up litter, nest boxes, wildlife rescue, habitat gardens, native tree planting, bushcare and weeding;
• Threatened Species – Our rare, endangered and vulnerable native plants and animals: koalas, orchids, native plants and animals under threat (i.e. birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, fish); and
• Australian Native Plants, Animals and Pollinators – Lifecycles, spring, new growth, seasonal changes, macro-invertebrates.  Photograph native Australian plants that are found in the Macarthur region. Focus your field of view on a native plant community, individual plants, or their leaves, branches, bark or flowers. Australian animals and pollinators include the furry, scaly, slippery, feathery, and crawly critters that are uniquely Australian.

Prizes valued up to $500 are available. Winners will be announced in October.

Mayor of Camden, Cr Ashleigh Cagney, encouraged everyone to enter.

“I always love seeing the submissions that come through and I can’t wait to see what people capture across the Macarthur region in these three interesting categories,” she said.

“It’s great time to get out and about, make use of this lovely spring weather and capture something beautiful.”

You can find out more and submit your entries on Camden Council’s website.