SNH launches Isle of May photography competition to mark 60 years

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is organising the competition to help celebrate 60 years of the Isle of May as a national nature reserve.

The judges will include SNH’s photographer, Lorne Gill, and will be looking for good quality photos which capture the special atmosphere and wildlife of the island.

Lorne said, “I'm delighted to be involved with the Isle of May reserve’s 60th anniversary nature photography competition. With so many nature photographers visiting the island over the summer, there's bound to be some amazing entries. I'll be looking for original but simple, uncluttered images that portray the day-to-day drama of the nature on the Isle of May.”

The competition is open to age categories 8 to 11, 12 to 15, and 16 and over, and the closing date is the 1 October 2016.

There will be prize winners in each category, as well as an overall winner chosen from the category winners. The overall winner’s prize is a two-day stay on the island next summer (2017). This includes an overnight stay and some dedicated time for photography tips with Lorne Gill, and to learn about the island with the reserve’s manager, David Steel. If the overall winner is under 16, they must be accompanied by an adult during their visit to the island. Two other prize winners will each receive a VIP day trip to the island.

All the winning photos will be displayed at an exhibition at SNH’s Battleby Conference Centre in the autumn and will be used in promotional items for the national nature reserve, such as postcards and posters.

The competition is open to amateur photographers only. Photos must have been taken on the Isle of May and be submitted in jpeg format.

For a copy of the rules, please send an email to ISLEMAYPHOTO@snh.gov.uk or download a copy from the Isle of May pages on the NNR website at http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/.

It’s free to visit the nature reserve, but you must take a boat trip to reach the island. Sailings are on the privately-run May Princess or Osprey of Anstruther from the Anstruther Harbour or through the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick.

• Anstruther - for tickets and details, see www.isleofmayferry.com (May Princess) or www.isleofmayboattrips.co.uk (RIB Osprey).
  
  
• North Berwick - For tickets and details, book online on the Scottish Seabird Centre website at www.seabird.org or call 01620 890 202.

Known locally as 'The May', this small island sits on the edge of the Firth of Forth. The island's importance for seabirds has drawn scientists to its shores for many years and the May is home to the oldest continuously running bird observatory in the UK. The May is also a regular haunt for grey seals, often seen lounging on the shoreline rocks. This island is a historical gem and it's been a place of pilgrimage for centuries with an early island monastery. The May was also the site of Scotland's very first lighthouse, built in 1636, while the current, castle-like lighthouse was designed by the engineer Robert Stevenson.

ENDS

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