Announcing Our 2008 Winners!

BEST OVERALL: Wildfire – Kootenay National Park
John Niddrie, Invermere, BC: "This photo was taken in 2003, the same year as the Kelowna and Barriere fires, during a significant wildfire event in Kootenay National Park that covered over 16,000 hectares of forest. After my shift that day, I drove to this location to have one last look at the advancing fire and saw several tired firefighters taking a much needed break. They had just finished extinguishing spot fires that had been threatening the nearby Kootenay Park Lodge on Hwy 93. Their work helped save the historic lodge, which was originally built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. I had my small point and shoot digital camera and knew that this was a moment that I had to capture."

To see more photos launch the photogallery links on the right.

Seeking originality and fresh, unusual perspectives, this year's judging panel – which included Canada's first woman in space and renowned photographer Roberta Bondar – picked this year's winners from a record number of entries. With our oceans in peril and the state of our environment in decline, the goal was to take a step back and look at some of the beauty and wonder that are still present in the world around us.

This year's Grand Prize winner is John Niddrie, a park ranger from Invermere, BC, who has won a vacation for two to Quebec City, courtesy of Quebec City Tourism. Along with the winners in each of the three categories, he has also received a Nikon CoolPix S710 digital camera courtesy of Nikon Canada. And of course, the runner-ups in each of our three categories have won free subscriptions to Harrowsmith Country Life Magazine.

As he approaches his 30th Anniversary as the host of The Nature of Things, Dr. Suzuki reminds us: "There was never a more important moment when we need to be inspired by what is becoming rarer for most city dwellers. We have acquired the ability to alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale and these pictures should remind us that we have to find a way of living in balance with the rest of creation."

Thanks to our audience and our sponsors for their participation and ongoing support.