The idea was simple – take a photo of an outdoor experience and share it on an app for others to vote on.  Our aim – to inspire young people to enjoy Scotland’s outdoors.

So we teamed-up with Young Scot, the national youth information agency, to try and find a picture that best represented the ‘Year of Natural Scotland’.  Things really took off and 1,100 photographs were entered through a photo sharing app specifically for young people.  You can view the full range of images on the Young Scot facebook page

Emma McBride, aged 15 from Glasgow, was announced as the winner for her shot taken on Ayr beach on a day out with her best friend. The image captured the essence of a fun day out, but with over 1,000 entries covering everything from wild animals and stunning landscapes, to people having fun in a variety of locations, it was no easy choice.

Emma McBride aged 15 and from Glasgow took the winning shot in the Young Scot competition.

Emma was naturally delighted with her win. “I was notified about the competition through the Young Scot Facebook page”, she explained “and I was feeling lucky so I thought I’d go for it.  It was a day I spent at Ayr beach with my best friend Monica. We both love pictures and it was the perfect day to take advantage of the scenery. As I’m interested in photos and landscapes myself, I realised it was a good chance for a picture and before I knew it I was jumping in the air trying to get the best shot possible!”

“When I found out that I had won my eyes just lit up, and I was unbelievably surprised as I’ve never won anything before in my life.  I love the outdoors, I love looking at somewhere and knowing it would make a good picture and when the landscape is good, it makes it that bit more enjoyable!”

Pete Rawcliffe, People & Places manager at Scottish Natural Heritage, said “This contest shows how many young people appreciate and value Scotland’s outdoors – and are getting out into the countryside and enjoying themselves. For us, the winner really captured the sense of escape that nature provides for young people. Many of the pictures also show you don’t have to go far to enjoy nature and get all the benefits of being outdoors – some of the young people took terrific photos of their local parks and greenspaces”.

Further information:

Young Scot is the national youth information and citizenship agency for Scotland, and currently has a membership of over 520,000 young people across Scotland. Young Scot provides all young people in Scotland aged 11-26 with information, ideas and incentives to enable them to make informed decisions and choices, turn their ideas into action and take advantage of opportunities available throughout Scotland and Europe.

Visit the Young Scot website