NIG Biodiversity
Mt. Fuji is white, but trionix already woke up in the river. This means that Spring has come, and NIG Biodiversity is open for submissions! In this project we are documenting the diversity of nature found in the NIG campus. While taking a walk around the campus, look around - you may see an interesting creature or plant. Try to photograph it, and submit your photos here, even if you don't know what it is. Maybe we will find out together!
NIG Biodiversity Spring 2026
Status: Open for submissions. Ending on May 31, 2026.
Previous NIG Biodiversity Events (click to expand)
- NIG Biodiversity Autumn 2025: Photos, Poster (22 photos by 7 submitters, 3 artworks)
- NIG Biodiversity Summer 2025: Photos, Poster (31 photos by 13 submitters, 3 artworks)
- NIG Biodiversity Spring 2025: Photos, Poster (28 photos by 8 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Autumn 2024: Photos, Poster (28 photos by 8 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Summer 2024: Photos, Poster (21 photos by 6 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Spring 2024: Photos, Poster (38 photos by 10 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Autumn 2023: Photos, Poster (26 photos by 10 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Summer 2023: Photos, Poster (21 photos by 7 submitters)
- NIG Biodiversity Spring 2023: Photos, Poster, Handout (62 photos by 20 submitters)
How to participate:
- Photograph something alive you find within NIG premises.
- It can be anything, including animals, plants and fungi (except humans and lab animals).
- Eligible photos are those taken and submitted in Spring 2026 (March 1 - May 31).
- Along with the photos, submit an artwork inspired by the species you photographed (optional). See details below.
- Submit your photos in this form.
Details (click to expand)
- Species name. This is optional. It's nice if you can identify what you found, so that others can learn from you. In such case you can write scientific name of the species in the form. If you are not sure, you can use a wider taxon, such as genus or family. Otherwise, you can just write "plant" or "animal".
- Location. If you can, try to record the location of your photo. Preferable format is decimal degrees, "lon,lat", e.g., "35.117620,138.938598". How to find the coordinates? When using a smartphone, often they are recorded automatically. Otherwise, you can open Google Maps, right-click at the point where you took the photo, and select the coordinates from the menu.
- Bonus points if you manage to find any rare or endangered species listed in the Japanese Red List.
- You can check whether the species you found already has a sequenced genome, using the GenomeSync database You can click "Statistics", then search for the species name. Even if the species was not sequenced yet, you can find the closest related species with sequenced genomes, by using the "Search entire taxonomy" option.
- Replacing submissions. You can submit any number of photos, but only the last 5 will be used. You can also inform us which photo you'd like to replace when submitting a photo beyond the first 5.
- If you took too many photos, or if you are really interested in biodiversity, consider joining iNaturatlist and submitting your photos to this international database of nature observations.
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Artwork submissions.
Since NIG Biodiversity Summer 2025, photo submitters have been encouraged to send along an artwork they create,
inspired by the species or nature they photographed within the campus.
These artworks can be paintings, poems, musical pieces, handcrafts, and beyond.
Both physical and digital forms of the art pieces are accepted (ie. you can turn in the actual physical works, or images of them).
Through this activity, we look to celebrate both the nature and our people.
Artworks can be submitted through the same submission form with the original photos, or contacting the organisers:
Digital artworks submission: Kirill Kryukov (kirill-kryukov@nig.ac.jp), Rumiko Suzuki (rusuzuki@nig.ac.jp).
Physical artworks submission: Huong Ta (huong.ta@nig.ac.jp)
What happens next?
- All submitted photos will be displayed online.
- If there is enough material, we will make a poster.
- At the end of the year we may make a calendar for the next year, using submitted photos and images of submitted artworks.
- All donated prizes are distributed among the participants via a lottery (organizers don't participate).
This is not a contest
Our focus here is more on the nature than on photography. Instead of a contest, we see it as a collaborative project on the boundary of science, art, education, and nature conservation. Without competition, anyone can participate, free from judgement or comparison.
Seasonal lottery
At the end of each season there is a lottery, with prizes distributed randomly among the entries. So, submitting 5 photos will increase your chances of winning. Additional prizes will be given to those submitting artworks.
Please contact organizers with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Organizers:
- "Kirill Kryukov" <kirill-kryukov@nig.ac.jp>
- "Rumiko Suzuki" <rusuzuki@nig.ac.jp>
- "Huong Ta" <huong.ta@nig.ac.jp>
Former organizers:
- Kaisar Dauyey