This egret has reason to dance.  The photographer who snapped this stunning picture, My Phuong Nguyen of Burtonsville, took overall top honors in a photo contest run by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

More than 300 photographers entered nearly 1,500 images in the annual competition, spread over six categories.  "Egret Dancing" won first place in the bird category; another Nguyen picture, "Water Dripping on Bleeding Heart," also secured top honors in the wild plant group.

Winning photos are to be published in DNR's quarterly magazine, as well as in the department's 2010 calendar.  To see the rest of the winning photos, go here.

(Photo by permission MD Department of Natural Resources)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Contests
        

By the third decade of this century, NASA expects astronauts to  be living and working on the moon. And that means they'll need a steady supply of water. Now, getting one liter of the stuff in space costs $20,000. 

That's the cost of transporting a kilogram of supplies such as water to the International Space Station. Getting it to the moon will be even more costly. (NASA's even sending a rocket to punch a  crater into the moon in search of water.)

So, NASA is asking students to figure out how to manage the water issue with its Waste Limitation and Management of Resources Design Challenge.

So, if you're a fifth through eigth grader and have up to five classmates, get designing and testing that water recycling system.

The top three teams will win awards and the first place team will receive an all expense-paid trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

They're looking for teams of up to six students and one teacher or mentor. They'll need to  submit proposals and results to NASA for evaluation by Feb. 1. Teams can be based in U.S. schools, science museums or science centers. Home school groups are also welcome.

The winners will be announced in May. 

The students who end up in Florida, will learn about NASA missions, get behind-the-scenes tours of launch facilities and learn about future aerospace and engineering careers.

NASA is hoping the competition will not only help solve a problem but bring some attention to science, technology, engineering and math disciplines that the space agency depends on.

For information about the contest and learn how to apply, click on this NASA site. 

Baltimore Sun file photo of a full moon over E. Lafayette Avenue in Baltimore/Karl Merton Ferron

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Contests
        

A few weeks ago we launched our Facebook page, where you can get B'More Green updates automatically.

If you're not a fan yet, now is a good time to become one. Once we reach 150, we will pick one of our fans at random and send him or her The Whole Green Catalog, 1,000 Best Things For You And the Earth. Come on, don't be shy!

(AP photo)

Posted by Kim Walker at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Contests
        

Wow, we sure got a variety of responses to our call for eco sins. Glad to know I'm not the only one who struggles.

As promised, we are rewarding one of our commenters with an eco-friendly pampering kit. Bonnie, who tells us she does many things to reduce her carbon footprint, but can't resist cranking the air conditioner on a hot Baltimore summer day, was chosen from our random drawing of names. Congratulations!

Her comment got me thinking about getting ready for the cooler weather. Last winter, my heat was constantly running, but I was still covered in a wool sweater jacket, and occasionally a winter hat, to keep warm inside. I'm debating whether to replace my drafty windows or just cover them in plastic. Has anyone purchased energy efficient windows that qualify for the tax credit? Was it money well spent?

(AP photo of frosty windows)

Posted by Kim Walker at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Contests, Going Green
        

There were so many great entries into the parks contest. I just couldn't pick.

B'More Green editor Kim Walker stepped in and decided on Leslie, who wrote a wonderful tale about how Susquehanna State Park in Havre de Grace eased her transition back to Maryland and came to be an important part of her life. Read the full post here.

The other entries, such as the one on the family that visits Rocky Gap State Park in Cumberland from Michigan and the couple that married in Mariner Point Park in Joppatowne, were really good. And touching. I'm going to make an effort to visit those parks soon. And Rick, who hiked Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, I'm impressed. I got most of the way there once.

So, I hope everyone will keep the stories coming about good parks to visit. And we'll have another contest soon. If you have suggestions for a good green contest, let me know that, too.

Thanks again for playing.

Baltimore Sun photo of Susquehanna State Park/Jed Kirschbaum

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Contests, Parks
        

Don't forget the contest! Deadline is tomorrow.

We're giving a prize to the someone who tells us the best story about a park. Why do you love it? It can be a local, state or national park.

I said in the last post that you didn't need to hike Half Dome -- and then someone said he did and loved it. Locally, Patterson Park and Herring Run have gotten a votes. So, no limits.

The prize is a Blue Q stainless steel water bottle.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Contests
        

In honor of the fee-free weekend at the National Parks, we are having a park-themed contest.

Tell us which park is your favorite and why you love it so much. It doesn't have to be a national park. It can be a state park or a local park.

Tell us about your first trip, your last trip or all of your trips to this park. Why is it so great? And the story doesn't have to be long or involve climbing to the top of Half Dome or anything.

We'll pick a winner on Friday. The prize is a new Blue Q stainless steel water bottle that you can take with you on the next park visit.

Blue Q bottles have no BPA like some hard clear plastic water bottles and the company gives 1 percent of its sales to support global clean water initiatives.

So, get writing.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Contests, Parks
        

This is Maryann here, sometimes blogger, all-time community coordinator and, for today, impartial judge for Meredith's best re-use contest.

There were some interesting suggestions offered, and even a little bit of debate, but one clear winner stood out. It seemed to be an overwhelming favorite, both among readers and us newspaper types.

So who was it? Are you dying to know?

Continue reading "The greenest of the green" »

Posted by Maryann James at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Contests
        

It's the last day to send in your ideas for reusing items -- most creative reuse wins a prize from The Sun.

The bar has been set high, but we could use some more before we pick a winner tomorrow.

I've heard about using the two-liter soda bottle bottoms as orange juicers, using Sun newspaper bags to pick up poop and other good stuff. What else?

Photo from stock.xchng

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Contests
        

Reuse the cardboard center from the roll of paper towels to store plastic bags? Reuse the cottage cheese container for leftovers?

You can do better than that. Tell us your most creative reuse of an item and win a prize from The Sun.

Send them in this week, and we'll have our panel of greenies (the people who sit around me) pick the best one. We'll announce the winner Friday and mail you your prize.

Photo from stock.xchng

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Contests