2025 Adventures in Nature Student Photo Contest

A white horse chases a brown horse at top speed through a green and scrubby setting, getting close enough to bite. By Jessica Finnie

2024 First Place photograph by Jessica Finnie

The Nature Conservancy in Arizona, in partnership with Arizona Highways and Arizona's Family,

presents the

12th Annual “Adventures in Nature” Student Photo Contest

Students aged 13-18 are invited to enter up to two photos that capture Arizona’s beauty and wildlife for a chance to win cash prizes. The contest is open for submissions between March 1-31, 2025,  and the top 10 winners will be announced on a virtual awards ceremony on April 17th, 2025. All contestants will receive a Zoom invitation by email.

See last year’s winners here.

Prizes:
First place - $5,000
Second place - $2,500
Third place - $1,000
7 Honorable Mentions - $250 each

Please view OFFICIAL RULES before submitting entries. 

Sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, Arizona's Family TV and Arizona Highways
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We will begin accepting submissions on March 1st, 2025.

GALLERY

Displaying 73 - 84 of 466
Photo by Linda Sabrina Noussair | A fortress of spines, a masterpiece of symmetry, this barrel cactus stands resilient against the sands of time. This intricate web of golden thorns forms a natural mandala, a living pattern shaped by the desert’s harsh, yet beautiful nature. The desert and this cactus tell a single truth: strength and elegance are often one and the same.

Photo by Linda Sabrina Noussair

A fortress of spines, a masterpiece of symmetry, this barrel cactus stands resilient against the sands of time. This intricate web of golden thorns forms a natural mandala, a living pattern shaped by the desert’s harsh, yet beautiful nature. The desert and this cactus tell a single truth: strength and elegance are often one and the same.

Location: Midtown Tucson, Arizona

Photo by Madison Kelly | A Mourning Dove in a tree sitting in her nest

Photo by Madison Kelly

A Mourning Dove in a tree sitting in her nest

Location: Gilbert

Photo by Linda Sabrina Noussair | Swamp Philosopher floats in quiet contemplation, its body half-hidden beneath the water’s surface, its round golden eyes reflecting the world above. Framed by stems and drifting leaves, it remains still—watching, waiting, thinking. Perhaps it muses on the ripples of time, notices the fleeting nature of a fly’s buzz, or contemplates the meaning of the shifting reflections around it.

Photo by Linda Sabrina Noussair

Swamp Philosopher floats in quiet contemplation, its body half-hidden beneath the water’s surface, its round golden eyes reflecting the world above. Framed by stems and drifting leaves, it remains still—watching, waiting, thinking. Perhaps it muses on the ripples of time, notices the fleeting nature of a fly’s buzz, or contemplates the meaning of the shifting reflections around it.

Location: Midtown Tucson, Arizona

Photo by Allyson Buesing | While upon first glance this may seem to be an ordinary landscape photo, through further inspection an elusive dragonfly catches the eye and becomes the captivating focal point of this scene.

Photo by Allyson Buesing

While upon first glance this may seem to be an ordinary landscape photo, through further inspection an elusive dragonfly catches the eye and becomes the captivating focal point of this scene.

Location: Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch: 2757 E Guadalupe Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Photo by Allyson Buesing | A gorgeous blue pool of water is turned into a serene scene with the entrance of a beautiful duck.

Photo by Allyson Buesing

A gorgeous blue pool of water is turned into a serene scene with the entrance of a beautiful duck.

Location: Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch: 2757 E Guadalupe Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Photo by Kara Todd | Photo taken of curious squirrel at the Bright Angel trail 1.5 mile house

Photo by Kara Todd

Photo taken of curious squirrel at the Bright Angel trail 1.5 mile house

Location: The Grand Canyon

Photo by Andrew McCord | After a large storm hit Phoenix, knocking over cacti and trees, I went out in the early morning to check the damage. As I walked I saw a bird going back and forth to provide for its babies in a nest nearby, and I snapped this photo of it on top of a cactus with the sun rising behind it.

Photo by Andrew McCord

After a large storm hit Phoenix, knocking over cacti and trees, I went out in the early morning to check the damage. As I walked I saw a bird going back and forth to provide for its babies in a nest nearby, and I snapped this photo of it on top of a cactus with the sun rising behind it.

Location: Phoenix

Photo by Jacob Espinoza | 6 horses with a nice background of trees and mountains

Photo by Jacob Espinoza

6 horses with a nice background of trees and mountains

Location: Rocking k Ranch

Photo by Kara Todd | Photo taken of squirrel foraging at the Bright Angel trail 1.5 mile house

Photo by Kara Todd

Photo taken of squirrel foraging at the Bright Angel trail 1.5 mile house

Location: The Grand Canyon

Photo by Provenzano | An adolescent Sonoran Desert Tortoise wandering through the desert at Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Its lips are stained purple from a delicious prickly pear fruit.

Photo by Provenzano

An adolescent Sonoran Desert Tortoise wandering through the desert at Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Its lips are stained purple from a delicious prickly pear fruit.

Location: Sabino Canyon

Photo by Eli Mathews | Western Bluebird on a beautiful winter day.

Photo by Eli Mathews

Western Bluebird on a beautiful winter day.

Location: Woodland Lake, Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ

Photo by Daxton Call | Sunset while training for a mtb race

Photo by Daxton Call

Sunset while training for a mtb race

Location: Top of Mine trail by Granite Reef