Galway city’s green and blue spaces have been beautifully captured in dozens of photographs submitted by young people to the Galway City Council Children’s Nature Photography Competition.
Over 120 photos were submitted during the final weeks of 2020 and the first month of 2021 to the competition, which aimed to capture biodiversity and nature within people’s 5km limit.
Rhys Morgans (10) took the winning photograph of a black-headed gull gliding on the surface of Rusheen Bay.
In his entry description he said that he thinks nature is import in Galway city because “plants and animals are vital to the environment”.
Environmental Awareness Officer for Galway City Council said that getting outdoors is incredibly important for people of all ages at this time.
“This competition gave young people a great reason to get out and explore, photograph and build an appreciation of the nature in their local area,” they said.
“While there are many scenic locations worth capturing in Galway City – such as our parks and beaches – everyday animals, plants and insects can also make for great photography too.”
The Environmental Awareness Officer added that the environment team in Galway City Council was blown away by the high standards of photography in the competition.
“The young people of Galway gave us a snap shot of what is important to them and why we should nurture and protect our biodiversity in the city.’’
A selection of the photographs will be exhibited in the Eyre Square Shopping Centre in the coming weeks as part of the Creative Ireland ‘Turning Galway into an Exhibition’ initiative.