Editor's Note: Winter 2025
National Wildlife magazine’s editor looks to nature for solace in chaotic times
- By Jennifer Wehunt
- NWF News
- Dec 18, 2024
The 53rd annual National Wildlife Photo Contest provides glimpses of beauty, such as this flock of migratory European starlings in the middle of a murmuration—an honorable mention in the Portfolio category by Nick Dunlop of Sebastopol, California.
COMING OFF another grueling election season, as heartbreaking casualties continue to climb in multiple areas of conflict around the world, wishing friends and loved ones a happy New Year can feel disingenuous. And yet, hope for a better future—and taking action, even in ways that may seem small—is what keeps us going.
When I need a break from the news, I go outside and gulp down a few big breaths. Amid a frigid New England winter, that resets the system, for sure. And when I need a jolt of encouragement, I seek out visual reminders of all the beauty that still surrounds us. That’s where our 53rd annual National Wildlife® Photo Contest comes in. These images, by your fellow readers of this magazine, overwhelm the brain with beauty, with discovery, with dopamine.
They’re not just pretty pictures. As windows into the lives of wildlife and scenes of natural splendor at home and abroad, these images connect us—and hold us accountable—to something bigger than ourselves. We are responsible for these ecosystems, and encountering them on-page can be the first step in a journey to change the world. For examples of resilient leaders already on this path, look to this issue’s stories of a young chief and grad students undeterred by wildfire. I hope you find plenty of inspiration for the year ahead—and for entering the 2025 photo contest, which opens January 15.
Jennifer Wehunt is the editorial director of National Wildlife magazine. Share your thoughts on the magazine by emailing nwfeditor@nwf.org.
