JAMESTOWN – The Audubon Nature Center has announced the winners of its 2016 Nature Photography Contest.

The categories for submissions of photographs were Landscapes, Plants (including trees, fungi, lichens, mosses, etc.), Wildlife (animals in their natural habitats), and Jamestown Audubon Nature Center, with Adult and Youth (18 and under or still in high school) Divisions in each category.

2016 winners are: Adult Landscape: Wendy Blanchard (Schenectady), “Spirit and Light”; Adult Plants: Natalie Weber (Glenview, Ill.), “Reaching Beyond”; Adult Wildlife: Jose Luis Rodriguez (Avila, Spain), “Kingfisher Fishing Reflection”; Adult Nature Center: Wendy Bale (Jamestown), “Fern Star”; Youth Landscape: Andrew Gerace (Novelty, Ohio), “Water on the Rocks”; Youth Plants: Julia Gong (Cary, N.C.), “Shadows Amidst the Blaze”; Youth Wildlife: Nicholas Silberman (New York, N.Y.), “Bubbles”.

All winners receive a $100 prize. Their photographs will go on exhibit at the Nature Center in time for the Saturday, Aug. 27, Monarch Butterfly Festival.

Nearly 350 entries were submitted from 35 states in the United States and 17 foreign countries. Runnersup came from across the United States, including Hawaii.

“We are delighted that our contest encourages people to take their cameras outside to see what they can capture,” said Program Director and contest coordinator Jennifer Schlick, noting that part of the purpose of the contest is to fulfill the Nature Center’s mission to connect people with nature.

Juror Kimberly Turner observed in her Judge’s Notes, “The natural world offers itself for such incredible inspiration.Throughout the world, from your kitchen windowsill to the marshes of foreign countries, something new can always be discovered. The same is with art, in this case photography.”

The winners and runnersup images can be seen at www.jasphotocontest.com. The Judge’s Notes, also there, describe the criteria used in the decision making.

Proceeds from the contest support the Nature Center’s environmental education programs.

The Audubon Nature Center is at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren, Pa. The building, with its collection of live animals, interactive exhibits and Blue Heron Gift Shop, is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays. The grounds, including trails, gardens, picnic area, arboretum, and Liberty, the Bald Eagle, are open from dawn until dusk daily.

For more information about the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center, call 569-2345 or visit www.jamestownaudubon.org.