2013 National History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year

As the year has come to an end, lets take some time to honor the man who has been designated 2013's Grand Title wildlife photographer of the year by the National History Museum. Greg du Toit, a native of South Africa, has made his mark in the photography world with his vibrant pictures of the many creatures that call the variety of ecosystems in Africa home. Greg's winning photograph is called the "Essence of Elephants" was taken in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana.

    Essence of Elephants

Check out some more of Greg's amazing photographs!

Here are some of the other award winners.

Isak Pretorius, Winner: Birds

Luis Javier Sandoval, Winner: Cold Blooded Animals

Joe McDonald, Winner: Mammals

Jasper Doest, Winner: Creative Visions

Udayan Rao Pawar, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winter Break Zoo Camps for Kids

Kids are about to be off for winter break, and while they enjoy school-free days, this could put stress on your childcare situation.

You could leave them with a relative, nanny, neighbor, or maybe with the school, or you could give your kids the opportunity to spend the week having a wild time at the zoo!

The zoo's winter camp's are great alternatives to sitting at home playing video games or watching television. Each winter zoo camp is a little bit different, but they all offer chances to interact, explore and learn about the animals and the zoo. Most camps start the Monday after Christmas.

Here are some cities offering a zoo winter camp. If you don't see you're zoo on here let me know so I can add your city to our zoo radar.

Phoenix, AZ
Explore nature and the zoo with up-close animal encounters, hands-on activities, games, in-depth investigations and hikes around Phoenix Zoo. The kids will also spend time in the classroom making crafts, using scientific tools and meeting program's animals up close. They'll learn things like what goes into feeding the animals, how the zoo enriches the lives of the animals that live there. Visit here for details and registration.

Fort Worth, TX
Children grades 1-6 have the opportunity to explore wildlife in the zoo and classroom Dec 23, 30 and Jan 2, 3. The Fort Worth Zoo is also offering a weekend long career camp for high school students to learn about what it takes to work at the zoo. Camp details here.

Houston, TX
Each camp is designed as a one-day experience, so bring your kids in for one or everyday for a chance to examine the zoo's exhibits, explore multi-species exhibits and discover what makes them healthy and enriching areas for their animals, learn how to read an x-ray and more! Children ages 4-5 and 6-7 will focus on the colors, shapes, sizes and speeds of all types of animals. For details of the day's activities visit here.

Omaha, NE
Omaha Zoo's kick off winter break for kids by exploring wild animals and their natural habitats, interact with zookeepers, study animal behaviors, conduct fun experiments, and become the envy of your friends! To register click here.

San Diego, CA

Join the San Diego Zoo this winter as kids learn all about noses and the sense of smell. Each day, children will examine the ways smells and sense of smell are important to wildlife. After all, the NOSE KNOWS! Visit here for more info.

Columbus, OH
School's out for winter! Spice up your child's time off from school with an exciting adventure at the Zoo! We will have close-up experiences with animal visitors, hands-on activities and plenty of time to explore the Zoo. Reserve your child's spot here.

New Orleans, LA

Audubon Zoo offer kids the opportunity to spend their days outdoors exploring nature. Educators provide your child with plenty of action packed adventures among the animals at the zoo. Each day is full of animal exploration, scientific investigation, arts and crafts, and more! Spots here are filling fast!

Seattle, WA
The Woodland Park Zoo offers parents a multitude of fun, unique day care at the zoo! From half days or full days, to week-long camps and even an extended day option. The kids will delight in exploring why animals move the way they do, learning about predators and discovering habitats! Register here.

Miami, FL
Winter break daze at Miami Metro Zoo is designed to immerse children into the world of wildlife and conservation. Join us for a fun-filled learning adventure that includes live animal presentations, visits to animal exhibits, Q & A sessions with zookeepers, animal enrichment activities, and much more! Enroll here.

Denver, CO
The Denver Zoo is offering 5 days of mini safari camps this winter where kids will learn what makes the zoo's jungle homes unique, explore the circle of life, participate in games and animal encounters! Register here.

Holiday How To: Recycle Christmas Trees and Christmas Lights

The Holiday season is certainly one of the most joyous times of the year and the traditions associated with it bring out the inner-child in all of us.While spending time with friends and family it is important to be mindful of the potential waste the Holidays can produce. Each year, Americans throw away an average of an extra 25 million tons of garbage from Thanksgiving to New Years. In fact, the 38,000 miles of ribbon thrown out every year is enough to tie around the Earth! So in honor of our precious planet, here are some tips for staying green during the Holiday season.

Recycle Christmas Tree and Wraths

Instead of simply throwing out your Christmas tree after the passing of Christmas, recycle it! Recycled trees can be used for erosion protection, mulch and can be grown and harvested much like a crop. 

In most cities, Christmas tree recycling can be done by leaving the tree on your curb for the normal greenery recycling pickup day. If this service is not available in your town, Earth 911 is the most comprehensive Christmas tree recycling guide on the internet and will certainly point you to the closest and most convenient option. Go to earth911.com/ for more information!

Recycle Christmas Lights

Christmas lights were not made to last forever. Over time, the lights will go out or shatter. It's inevitable. Instead of throwing the lights out or storing them in your attic, recycling is an excellent choice. The various components that make up the lights such as pvc, glass and copper can be repackaged into a multitude of things. 

Holiday LEDs is a great service that accepts all recycled Christmas lights and in return will send you a 15% off gift certificate to purchase new LED Christmas lights on their website. LED lights use less energy and ultimately are less of a burden on your electricity bill! The recycling program information can be found at the link below.

http://www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program

Wishing everyone a joyous and merry Christmas!