#wpc2014

We’re excited to announce the winners of the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress SAVED Nature Photography Competition!

See all the finalists here in this video: http://vimeo.com/112000706

The finalists of the competition were presented at the IUCN World Parks Congress in the exhibition hall – to thousands of people who attended the Congress.

Winners

Below are our four winners with judges comments included

Specialist Category - 

Breathless Encounter by Jaine Fabrice

Judges Comments: 

This is just a stunning image. Beautifully composed as well, and I feel for the shooter being able to keep it all together when he saw this amazing sight before his eyes. It makes you wonder about the undersea world and creatures that live there, and how tiny and insignificant we humans are compared with the beautiful and scary monsters of the deep. And what a magnificent creature the Manta Ray is! This is the sort of picture you might see as a double-page spread in National Geographic.

 Enthusiast Category - Bluebottle by Justin Gilligan

Judges Comments:

It makes you wonder how such an insignificant creature as a bluebottle jellyfish can become such a beautiful image, almost like a piece of marine jewellery, a brooch out from the deep. I have to admire the shooter for getting everything together so tightly within the frame, and by shooting directly into the sun, getting the backlight to work so well. I dread to think how long this shot took to get, but well done, you’ve made a gorgeous hero out of a bloody pest!

Social Category - 

Giraffe on Floodplain by Scott Ramsay

Judges Comments:

Another beautiful composition out of minimal colours and swirling forms, and such a strange image considering that one normally sees girraffes on a grassy plain, so it intrigues me to consider what the story is here, and what risks the animal takes in crossing a body of water. It looks like a slippery crossing, and I wonder what the back story is here, and why is this giraffe alone? I feel for the creature; there is drama being played out here, its very solitariness within the frame makes you wonder. Well seen.

Youth Category - 

Entranced by Kalani Gacon

Judges Comments:

Something wild and free about this picture, the running youth, hair flying in wind, the sun like a shining ball balanced upon the shoulder. You could make a song from this picture, and to me the picture speaks of energy and possibilities of life when you are a child, and what wonders under the sun you may encounter in the years before you. It’s an optimistic picture, a picture of light and energy, laughter and following your dreams.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered the competition for such an amazing range of images, received from around the world! They were all beautiful and appreciated by so many people who visited the Congress and the website.

You can still check out the gallery of images from SAVED by logging onto our website: http://www.wpcsaved.com/gallery

Friday was a scheduled deadlift delaod day and It was welcomed.  I did some back work and was happy to call it done.

Bent over Row: 315 X 3 sets of 8

Lat Pulldowns using the new Spud, Inc. Utility Strap: 5 set sof 10 moderate weight.

Prone Face Pulls on an incline bench using a doubled up monster mini band (anchored low on a rack) with the utility strap. 4 sets of 10-12.  I have not done these before, but they felt pretty good and hit my upperback and rear delts in a new way.

DB Biceps curl: 20 X 2 sets of 15

Saturday was probably my last upperbody accessory workout.  Normally I will cut these out close to a meet so I have an extra day to heal up.  

I started with a lot of shoulder, pec, and biceps stretching since everything was angry.  

Side DB Raise: 25 X 15, 30 X 15

Front DB Raise: 30 X 15, 35 X 15

Band Triceps Pushdown: Alternated straight pushdowns with triceps ext behind the head: 3 sets of 15-20 each with light band.

DB Biceps hammer Curl: 2 sets of 15 with 25 lbs.  

I have two more delaod days this week for the squat and bench and a heavy (ish) pull day on Friday.  Hopefully these down days will give me some time to heal up so next week my body feels good for some heavier training.  

We’re sure you’ve trawled through the World Parks Congress website and know all about the inspiring field trips that you can sign-up for, so as we move towards the big event, we thought we’d give you updates and information from some of the Field Trip leaders. 

As its World Wildlife Day, it seems fitting to learn more about the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Field trip! 

The Eastern Barred Bandicoot was once widely spread across the grasslands of Victoria, however is now functionally extinct on the mainland. The reintroduction and survival of these shy, nocturnal tussock-dwellers depends entirely on effective collaboration between conservation organisations, government, business and broader community. 

By joining this field trip you will learn how an innovative cross sector partnership between Conservation Volunteers Australia, citizen volunteers and all members of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Recovery Team has contributed to the effective management of captive breeding programs and secure, healthy, predator-free habitat for the reintroduction of a critically endangered species in a densely populated urban environment.

Travis Scicchitano, provides an update on the recent work to help secure a future for this species.

It’s been a busy summer at Woodlands Historic Park.  The weather has thrown up a few challenges but our amazing volunteers have turned up in droves even with very high temperatures.  Because of the incredible volunteer dedication, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Program has continued to kick goals and keep the habitat safe for our bandicoots.  

Countless days have been put into preparing the site by enhancing and upgrading existing fence lines.  Fence patrols have eliminated any breaches which would threaten the little bandicoots.  Recently one of our weekend teams discovered a large branch had fallen down on top of the perimeter fence.  They busily cut it down and reconstructed the fence, stopping any foxes getting a chance to make there way in there.  This might seem like a small thing, but it is a significant contribution and fantastic effort. Without this continuous dedication this program couldn’t survive!

At the moment it is bandicoot breeding time and I can assure you all they have been.  

Our last monitoring was done in the first week of December where we aimed to catch our first generation bred and born animals on site.  These are called F1’s in science lingo!  The great news is that we caught two F1’s.  Both bandicoots were females and only weighing 170 grams, about the size of a small house mouse!  Although they were tiny they were out of the pouch learning to become independent with mum by their side.  We also trapped mum and amazingly she had three new babies in her pouch about the size of a jelly bean!  This is very encouraging as it means the conditions and habitat are perfect for the bandicoots.  In April this year when the next major trapping is planned we should get a good indication on numbers so fingers crossed until then that they keep on breeding!!!

While the bandicoots are busy breeding, our volunteers have been busily rewatering a grassland habitat they planted last year.  These plants are coming along well and should hopefully be at full size within a year and ready for bandicoots to move in.  Other works have been continuous weed removal throughout the reserve giving our native grasses the best chance to flourish. 

For the entire calendar year from January to December 2013 over 570 volunteer days were achieved.  This is an amazing effort.  It’s like having two extra staff members with me for the year!!  And that makes a huge difference to the survival of the program and the survival of the species. Once again I would like to thank them all for putting in such a great effort and working through hot tiring and tough conditions.  Clearly there efforts are paying off.

Donations are making a difference as we look to broaden our program.  We are looking at putting in remote monitoring cameras which we can use to record the bandicoots activity and numbers.  We would also like to use this to stream our fury friends on the website for everyone to see and learn about.

G’day, my name is Eric and I am a  Senior Events Coordinator for the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014. Over the Christmas period my partner and I made a short road trip to explore the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is an area with stunning scenery, landscapes and some truly beautiful protected areas, home to some of Australia’s most well known wildlife.

Our first stop was Pebbly Beach campground, located in Murramarang National Park, where we set up our tent for two nights. We were surprised to see many kangaroos hanging around the beach at dawn and dusk, as well as a variety of colourful local birds such as Crimson Rosella and king-parrots. We spent our stay relaxing at the beach, swimming in the ocean, doing short walks along the  stunning coastline and cooking dinner under the stars. It certainly made me realise why protected areas are great for human health. Not only was I totally relaxed, ironing out the end of year stress, but exploring the parks enabled me to get my daily exercise quota filled!

We made our way back to Sydney stopping at Jervis Bay, where we visited Booderee National Park as well as the famous Hyams Beach. This place has some the most spectacular beaches I have ever seen. It has pristine blue water, white squeaky sands and is bursting of wildlife.

It was a great way to spend the holiday break surrounded by the magnificence of our National Park, and invigorate me for the year ahead as we work towards the IUCN World Parks Congress. Check out some of my photos of this short trip.

Stay tuned for more stories!