Examples of biodiversity are all around us, and we want to see your best shots! If you are between the ages of 6 and 14, head outside and start snapping away. We want you to use your photos to encourage others to preserve the environment for the sake of biodiversity.

What is biodiversity?

Put simply, biodiversity is the differences between all living things on the planet. One of the easiest species to see biodiversity in is humans, or Homo sapiens. For example, your parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, teachers and friends are all the same species but can each be wildly different from each other. Another way to see biodiversity in everyday life is to look at the pets of your family or friends. They may have many dogs, but they are probably all different species of dogs. There are differences between each and every one. This idea is true for all plants and animals on earth.

Another aspect of biodiversity has to do with ecosystems. Ecosystem biodiversity deals with the differences in how animals and plants interact and live in their surroundings. Ecosystems in various areas can be vastly different, and this means that animals and plants in these ecosystems all depend on differences in weather, water, types of soil and other factors. The way a type of lizard lives in the desert may be wildly different than how another lizard lives in a rainforest.

Why does this matter?

Preserving these ecosystems and environments is vital to the preservation of biodiversity. When a particular species becomes extinct, it affects the entire ecosystem. Humans may be on the verge of losing large numbers of species due to their actions and the way they treat the environment.

Scientists are still unsure about how many total species there are, but estimate it is anywhere from 5 to 30 million. Only about 1.78 million species of animals, plants and micro-organisms have been identified and named so far. Thousands of new species are discovered each year.

However, just because we are discovering more and more species each year doesn't mean we don't have to worry about the ones we are losing. For example, many medicines are plant-based. There could be a plant species that has yet to be discovered that may hold the cure to cancer. However, if we do not preserve threatened ecosystems that may contain these new species, we will never know about them. We must preserve these ecosystems before we lose unknown numbers of species.