Surf Coast Shire Mayor Cr Rose Hodge had the difficult job of choosing three winners in the #SignsofSpringSCS social media competition, which ran for two weeks in September 2020 across Instagram and Facebook.
One winner, Mary Rose Avent, thanks a home schooling idea of making a floral crown as inspiration for her winning entry of son Jimmy (5) wearing a home-made wattle crown.
"My two sons love the changing seasons and after a pretty rough couple of months in lockdown, we were enjoying finding some beautiful spots in nature locally – pockets of nature for them to climb trees around the shire," said Mary, a freelance textile and graphic designer for Aviary Studio.
"It just made me laugh," said Mayor Rose Hodge, when choosing this image as one of the winners, who each receive a $100 hamper from Peachs in Torquay, with a $50 hamper to gift to a friend in need.
Another winner, Jo Bangles, had set up a hose and camera with a long lense in her backyard to patiently wait to capture her winning image of a magpie cooling down in the hose water.
"They are so curious and I do get a bit excited about the trees blossoming and the baby animals in spring, especially the ducklings in Torquay's Taylor Park," said Jo. "But, I'm a big magpie fan, too."
Louise E, a local architect, took her winning photo while chasing the sunrise on the Iron Bark Basin trail and Mayor Hodge said it encapsulated the signs of spring so well: "It has the wattle in the front, the sun shining through the clouds, our beautiful beaches – it's just lovely. You look at it and say – that's spring!"
"I don't normally take close-ups of flowers, but was trying something different," said Louise. "It was a beautiful, calm morning. We're so lucky on the Surf Coast to be able to come to places like this, exercise and clear the mind – that's been the best medicine of all during these times."
Head to Instagram or Facebook and search #SignsofSpringSCS for inspiration and to see some of the amazing photos from this year's competition.
