Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FOOTHILLS—Conserving Carolina is inviting members of the community to enter the sixth annual Habitat at Home spring photo contest, which celebrates the beautiful and wild things we can see right outside our door. The purpose of the contest is to inspire more people to cultivate natural areas around their homes, expanding much-needed habitats for wild creatures, from bees to bears. The deadline to enter is June 1. 

Conserving Carolina is seeking photos that showcase ways people support wildlife, such as native wildflower gardens or birdhouses. They are also seeking photos of animals spotted around your home or other locations in your community, such as your school, workplace, or place of worship. This includes both small and large animals. In past years, people have shared photos of bees, butterflies, beetles, birds, lizards, toads, turtles, snakes, deer, foxes, bobcats, bears, squirrels, and much more! 

“We live in a time when so many wildlife populations are plummeting because there’s not enough habitat,” said Conserving Carolina Communications and Marketing Director Rose Lane. “That means that when you create a habitat at your home, you are offering a very real lifeline for wild creatures. And we want to see the beautiful, hopeful change that you are creating in this photo contest!”

The contest is open to both experienced photographers and those who are simply having fun. Youth entries are encouraged. The primary goal is to celebrate nature near home and inspire others, so all levels of photography are celebrated. 

This year, Conserving Carolina is welcoming photos from all four seasons, as long as they were taken in either 2024 or 2025. To be eligible for prizes, images must be taken in Western North Carolina or Upstate South Carolina. Individuals may enter multiple times up until June 1. 

You can enter the contest either through social media or email.

Entries may be emailed to rose@conservingcarolina.org. To enter by social media, share your photo on Facebook or Instagram and tag @conservingcarolina. You must make your photo a public post, and state in the post when and where it was taken. 

After the contest ends, a panel of judges will select five finalists. The grand prize winner will be chosen through online voting. The grand prize is a professional landscape consultation with Mark Byington of Byington Landscape Architects, an expert in sustainable landscapes. The other four finalists will win $25 gift cards to their choice of local businesses that sell native plants. 

To see the full contest rules, visit conservingcarolina.org/contest2025.