Winners

As the gentle waves of Lake Ontario lap against the shore, when will we realize they behold the truth? Across the canvas of the earth, strewn across the sandy patches are fragments of human carelessness – plastic bottles, rotting soda cans, lost feathers of friends. As they silently suffocate in our web of pollution, and the waste intertwined with the natural beauty of our landscape, we are once again reminded of Ontario’s shores of shame.

Hidden from the eyes of the public, corporations are constantly forsaking our nature for money. They mindlessly trade eco-friendliness for efficiency to mass produce products. Even if they make the public believe that they’re gaining more products for a cheaper price, what the public doesn’t know is much larger. Soon, people will be mindlessly and blindly buying products when the earth around them is rotting away.

The life of our planet is slowly depleting away. People must take action, if we want to live in this world. The amount of fossil fuels needs to go down and we need to care for the planet that gave us everything. Reduced biodiversity threatens us everyday and still we don’t make a stand. Millions of people are dying from illnesses caused by biodiversity. Pollution is still creating a major impact and we are not doing anything. The seasons are getting flipped down, the pollution rates go up everyday and still there is no effect on people. Last year approximately 14,600 premature deaths happened in Canada alone due to pollution. With the population now at approximately 8 billion we should start taking care of the planet. Our first action should be to reduce fossil fuels. With that being said we should start taking care of our earth like it’s one of our own.

Everyday, our world is becoming more polluted and we are turning a blind eye to it. Pollution is abolishing what is left of our freshwater. Canada has a significant amount of the world’s freshwater at 20 percent. That percentage is decreasing due to sewage pollution and industrial wastewater being dumped into freshwater. As well, trash is contributing to soil pollution. As the garbage decays, it infects the soil with hazardous chemicals. These chemicals then decrease the microorganisms in the soil creating mutations in plants over time. We need to open our eyes and take ownership of our roles in the deterioration of our planet before it is too late!

This photo depicts a bird at a wildlife reserve. The bird’s body is angled forward, but due to its eye placement, it appears to be peering at the audience. With this photo, I wanted to symbolically capture the idea of, in biodiversity conservation efforts, embracing the future while keeping an eye on the present in order to protect and improve it. In addition, the photo features a dignified and striking bird to remind the viewer of the wildlife we are to safeguard. This photo is to have an impact on individuals and remind them of what is at stake for biodiversity.

Our world is burning to ashes, and we’re just sitting on the sidelines. Wildfires are rapidly spreading throughout the globe due to climate change. In Canada alone, studies have shown that 2023 was the worst year in history for wildfires, surpassing the record of 1995 of most hectares burned. The fires burned 15.2 million hectares! It doesn’t end there! A scientist who works with the Canadian Forest Service said that this year Canada should be on “high alert”, for what could happen this summer. We need to stop climate change before our world actually burns to the ground.