Tree Conservancy of Darien Announces Annual "Celebration of Trees" Photo Contest

Tree Conservancy of Darien (treeconservancyofdarien.org), is holding its fourth annual photo contest, “Celebration of Trees”, with an opening reception sponsored by Palmer’s Market, on March 4th at the Darien Nature Center from 6-8pm. TCD hopes to raise awareness of the value of trees in the community and inspire contestants of all ages to capture the beauty of majestic, historic, attractive and unusual trees while supporting their mission. All proceeds of the contest go directly to caring for and planting trees in Darien.

All who live, work or volunteer in Darien are encouraged to participate in the fundraising contest. Photos should be taken within the past two years and can be black and white or color. Tree Conservancy is expanding the scope of this year’s contest by allowing photos of trees outside of Darien to be submitted for entry and including a Fairfield County professional category. The new professional category is for Fairfield County artists and photographers who have an established artistic career, a website featuring their artwork, or have marketed personal artwork or photographs for sale in galleries or professional venues. Professional entries must be matted and framed by the photographer and cannot exceed 16x20 in overall size. Photo entries from non-professionals must be 8x10 in size and will be matted by Tree Conservancy. Also new this year is that contestants can offer their photographs for sale, with 30% of the sale price going to Tree Conservancy.

Photographs can be submitted for the contest at the Darien Nature Center, 120 Brookside Road, on Thursday, February 25th and Friday, February 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Saturday, February 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Registration fee is $10 for students, $15 for adults and $15 for professionals, with a limit of three entries per person and one per category. Rules for entry and printable entry form can be found at treeconservancyofdarien.org.

Photos will be displayed at the Darien Nature Center from March 4 to March 25, and will be judged by Nancy McTague Stock and Bill Taufic. Prizes will be awarded in several categories that include Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Beyond Darien’s Borders and Series of 2 or 3 photos. The juried show will include ribbons for professionals, adults, elementary, middle and high school participants.

The goals of Tree Conservancy of Darien are to educate the community about the value of trees and their care, to identify and revitalize significant (heritage) trees in town, to maintain a stewardship program for the care and maintenance of existing trees, and to build partnerships to achieve Tree Conservancy of Darien goals. Established in 2010, TCD has planted over 262 trees in Darien, held three tree sales, established a Give-A-Tree- Program, co-sponsored five educational lectures and participated in several educational “green” events. For more information or to donate to Tree Conservancy of Darien, visit the Tree Conservancy at treeconservancyofdarien.org or email them at info@treeconservancyofdarien.org