Summers are Free for Military Families at Wildlife Sanctuaries

2015-bsm-logo-largeMass Audubon is proud to offer free admission to active-duty U.S. military personnel and their families from Memorial Day to Labor Day through the Blue Star Museums program.

All Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries from the Berkshires to the Cape welcome our country’s service men and women to explore nature and observe wildlife this summer.

The Blue Star Museums program is a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Defense, and Blue Star Families. Each summer it provides military families free access to over 2,000 museums, wildlife sanctuaries, and parks across the country in recognition of their service. All active-duty personnel (including National Guard and Reserve) and their families, up to five people, are eligible upon the presentation of a valid military ID card.

Take 5: National Camera Day

June 29 is National Camera Day, a day to celebrate how the incredible power of photographs has changed the world. Photographs have allowed us to learn and observe so many things about the natural world that we couldn’t before the invention of the camera.

In honor of National Camera Day, here are the Grand Prize Winners from the last five years of the Picture This: Your Great Outdoors Photo Contest.

The 2016 Photo Contest is now open for submissions! Show us your best photographs taken in Massachusetts (or at Mass Audubon’s Wildwood camp in New Hampshire) that show off everything from wildlife to scenic landscapes to people enjoying the wonders of nature.

2015 Photo Contest Winner © Steve Flint

2015 Photo Contest Winner © Steve Flint

2014 Photo Contest Winner © Arindam Ghosh

2014 Photo Contest Winner © Arindam Ghosh

2013 Photo Contest Winner © Paul Mozell

2013 Photo Contest Winner © Paul Mozell

2012 Photo Contest Winner © Ken Lee

2012 Photo Contest Winner © Ken Lee

2011 Photo Contest Winner © Mary Dineen

2011 Photo Contest Winner © Mary Dineen