We’ve been running a photographic competition in Northern Ireland. The winning images have just been announced. You can have a peep here (follow the link at the bottom of the page). And here's some press coverage.
The competition was called ‘Nature’s Hotspots’ and its theme was celebrating the importance of Northern Ireland’s Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs). If you are a regular reader, you will have seen ‘SSSIs’ mentioned on numerous occasions – the two terms mean the same thing and both are part of the clunky vocabulary of nature conservation which wasn’t really designed to set the pulse racing!
Whether it’s a ‘site’ or an ‘area’ to many people the most important word is ‘special’. The response to our competition clearly inspired many to capture an image that showed just why these places have the power to inspire.
The results of the competition were announced at an event in the Parliament Buildings, Stormont. This celebration of the beauty of the best of Northern Ireland’s wildlife provided an opportunity for the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, to acknowledge that more needs to be done to complete the network of ASSIs boosting the 288 that have so far been designated to 440 by 2016.
Designation is, of course, just the first step to ensuring that the inspiration these special places give to us now is sustained. The competition’s overall winner, Dr Domhnall Brannigan, now lives in Sydney and has spoken of how much he misses the landscapes of his childhood – but with effective protection they will endure and the fond remembered places will continue to inspire new generations.