City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Contest for Ontario Residents: Submit Photos Until 5:00PM on Sept.30, 2014

City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Contest Update: Deadline Extended to Oct.31, 2014

Here are some good reasons to celebrate the City of Toronto’s parks, forestry and recreation spaces.

• There are 8,000 hectares of City parkland in Toronto – that’s 13% of Toronto’s land area!
  • Most people live within 500m, or a five to ten minute walk from a park.
• The parks system includes 859 playground sites, 692 sports fields, 637 tennis courts and many more outdoor facilities.
• Toronto’s urban forest is a vital city asset with an estimated replacement value of $7.1 billion and it’s canopy covers up to 28% of the city.
  • Check out toronto.ca/trees to learn more about Toronto’s trees.

Get outside, take  pictures and share your memorable moments in Toronto’s parks, urban forests, and recreation spaces for a chance to win great prizes! Participation is also a great way to explore and share what the city’s green spaces, trees and recreation opportunities mean to you…

The contest theme is around getting outdoors to create and share memorable moments and experiences with the City of Toronto’s parks, urban forest or engaging in recreation activities. These may be personal moments from the contestant’s experiences or experiences of others that illustrate how the City’s parks, forestry and recreation contributes to enhancing the quality of life for Toronto residents.

Prizes

• There will be one Grand Prize from all entries across all categories.
  • The Grand Prize will be a Nikon D3300 camera with 18-55mm lens and 55-300mm lens and Nikon camera bag, SD card and tripod valued at an approximate retail value of $1,079.90.
  • There will be one first prize in each of the three (3) categories of prizes to be won.

    

    • First place in each category will receive a Nikon CoolPix AW120 Camera with an approximate retail value of $379.95.
• Once the category first place winners have been determined, the next top three photos – the finalists – will receive a certificate from the City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division.
• Some photos may receive honorable mention.
• Winning images will be featured on the City’s website and in the City’s communication materials.
  • Winning photos and those that receive honourable mention will be exhibited at City Hall in the rotunda.
  • Winning images will also be featured in the Spring Summer 2015 issue of Toronto FUN Guide.

The contest is open to photographers who are residents of the province of Ontario in Canada.

Any submissions must be an original photo taken in the City of Toronto during the contest period (9:00am on August 18, 2014 and ending at 5:00pm on September 30, 2014), and fall into one of three categories:

• Parks,
• Forestry, and
• Recreation.

Contestants may enter multiple photos into more than one category; however one picture cannot be entered into more than one category.

• Photos must be appropriate for posting on a public government website.
• No purchase or participation fee is necessary.

Entering the contest constitutes an agreement by the contestant to give a royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to the City, and anyone it authorizes, to display, distribute, modify, crop reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed including the Internet, for any City purpose including, but not limited to, advertising and promotion.  Such license is provided without any fee or other form of compensation, or any requirement for additional approvals, photo credit will be given where possible.

The entrant waives all moral rights in any of his or her winning entries.

Three panels of judges composed of City employees in two cases, and one composed of non-City employees, will be selected by the City, in its sole discretion.

• Expert guest judges include
  • Kristian Bogner, a world-class professional photographer, speaker and Nikon Ambassador;
  • Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first neurologist in space and Canada’s first female astronaut, whose photography has taken her to the most extreme climatic and geological locations on earth; and
  • Moses Znaimer, media visionary, Founder/CEO of ZoomerMedia Limited and President of CARP.

Contestants who have submitted winning/honourable mention photos will be notified at the end of December 2014, approximately.

• Prizes must be picked up by December 31, 2014 or as otherwise arranged.

Please click here for more info and the complete Official Rules & Regulations of the contest.

• Also, you can contact the Market Research and Promotions Consultant at 416-338-2934.

Good Luck! / Bonne Chance!

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

NEWS RELEASE

August 27, 2014

Photography contest puts the focus on Toronto’s parks, forests and recreational spaces

The City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation division is holding a photo contest, presented by Nikon Canada, to highlight Toronto’s parks, urban forests, natural environments and recreation spaces.

Judging will take place in the following three categories: parks, forestry and recreation – all tied to the theme of getting outside and enjoying the city. Expert guest judges include Kristian Bogner, a world-class professional photographer, speaker and Nikon Ambassador; Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first neurologist in space and Canada’s first female astronaut, whose photography has taken her to the most extreme climatic and geological locations on earth; and Moses Znaimer, media visionary, Founder/CEO of ZoomerMedia Limited and President of CARP.

Entries will be evaluated based on content, composition, impact and technical criteria. Judges will review short-listed photos and winners will be notified in December 2014. The photographer with the best photo overall will receive a Nikon D3300 camera with lenses. First place winners in each of the three categories will receive a Nikon CoolPix AW120 camera. Winning images will be featured on the City’s website and in the City’s communication materials.

The contest has been launched and runs until September 30. Those wishing to participate are asked to email photos individually to pfr@toronto.ca.

More information, including the rules and instructions, is available at http://www.toronto.ca/photocontest.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.