And the Winners Are... Prairie Pics Photo Contest Winners Announced!

What an incredible contest! We are thrilled to announce the winners of the inaugural Prairie Pics: Phone Photography Contest, a celebration of the native plants and pollinators of Illinois.

This contest was designed to highlight the beauty and importance of native flora. Illinois is, after all, nicknamed "The Prairie State" for a reason—its landscape was once covered in vast stretches of tallgrass prairie. While much of that original prairie is gone, native plants still play a vital role in our ecosystem, from supporting crucial pollinators like bees and butterflies to mitigating stormwater runoff with their deep root systems.

Engaging College Students in Conservation

Huge shoutout to our student partner, Larinda Frushour, who reached out looking for an accessible way for the next generation of leaders to engage in conservation and sustainability. Together, we came up with a very simple campaign: everyone with a smartphone could visit the beautiful Red Oak Rain Garden, snap a photo, and enter!

Behind the scenes, this contest was a true team effort. Our team provided the digital framework, building a custom landing page and using the Woobox platform to run the contest. Meanwhile, Larinda was the driving force on campus. She coordinated with student organizations, designed promotional materials, and hosted the kick-off event. The success of the contest is a direct result of her hard work and passion for wildlife.

"When we’re constantly moving from one thing to the next, it’s easy to overlook the incredible moments in nature that are unfolding all around us. Through this contest, I hoped to inspire people to slow down, get up close, and engage with our beautiful garden - all while learning more about the vital role of native prairie plants and pollinators, " Larinda said.

The results were remarkable! In just two weeks, we received a total of 78 photo submissions from 50 student participants and counted more than 1,000 votes from the UIUC community. The passion for nature and photography was clear in every entry!

Most Popular Vote Winner

After a close race, the photo with the most votes is Donovan Jensen! Their stunning shot of black-eyed susans at sunset captured the hearts of the voters with more than 300 votes.

Garden for Wildlife Staff Pick

The Garden for Wildlife team had the difficult task of choosing our favorite, and after much deliberation, we've selected Kenneth Guo as our Staff Pick winner. Their photograph of "A Queen on her lush purple throne," featuring a monarch butterfly refueling a blazing star flower, perfectly highlights the relationship between native plants and the wildlife that depend on them for survival. The color contrast between the purple flowers and orange wings of the butterfly really made this image stand out from all the others.

Kenneth submitted several beautiful photos and has the following message to share, "Plant native!"

See Our Top 20 Prairie Pics

There were so many great submissions and we've selected some of our favorites to share with you. With black-eyed susans, sunflowers, blazing stars, and asters in bloom, the rain garden was buzzing with life this September and our student participants expertly captured the beauty of the prairie!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo and helped us showcase these Illinois native plants. Be sure to follow us on social media @gardenforwildlife for more ways to get involved with protecting wildlife!