2 posts tagged “australian wildlife”
I have been thinking about doing something like this for a long time and realise that the job is bigger than just little old me! I live in Queensland for instance and am not exposed to the wildlife in other Australian States. I have created a gorgeous free site using the Wetpaint Community platform and anyone can join who would like to contribute in creating a wealth of educational resources about Australian Wildlife and Wild Plants.
My aim is to provide an educational site for artists, writers, researchers, nature lovers, school children, students etc to be able to find information, resources and help in identifying all of our beloved Australian critters. I have so many photographs just waiting to be added and I hope that you do too and that you would be willing to share them with the world! Even if you can't identify what they are but they are good quality, members would love you to share them and we can help you identify the species. This is very much a community site where everyone has the power to create, tweak, modify, correct, add to, help, discuss and so on. It will, however, be moderated just to keeps things 'fair'.
Why would you do this ?
because you:
- are passionate about Australian native wildlife and you want to learn more about all of the flora and fauna around you
- you have knowledge in this area which you would like to share
- want to meet like-minded people who share the same love of nature as yourself
- are a wildlife artist/photographer/writer/illustrator who would like to showcase your work and gain more exposure (you can link back to your website)
- you have the opportunity to sell your photographs to publishers, artists looking for resource photos etc
- want to help raise awareness of Australian animal rights and welfare
- have good photographs of Australian flora and fauna which you would like to showcase, share and educate others about
- you are a wildlife carer
- are a writer or author looking for information and images on Australian wildlife
- have or belong to a wildlife organisation which you would like to promote
Pop over to Australian Wildlife Educational Site now and explore. Please support my vision by becoming a member for free and contributing in whatever way you can, no matter how small and there will never be any pressure on you from anyone to contribute and no nagging e-mails. After all, this site is about a greater cause than our own egos but rather a like-minded group of people who are passionate about their love for Australian nature. Having said that though, you get your own page as well where you may choose to promote yourself and your work. What have you got to lose?
For a long time now I have felt the need to create a social community based on my passion for the arts and photography with a focus on two things, Australia and wildlife. As a practising artist and photographer and also being Australian, I felt that there was a real gap for Australian artists to launch themselves, network locally and gain exposure to Australian facilities such as galleries, exhibitions, retail outlets, online shops, self-publishing options, local photo shoots or sketching and painting classes, framers, suppliers, etc you get the idea. Click here to take a peek at the site and join if you wish.
There are many really good sites with similar aims but they are mostly in America and this is not advantageous in many ways for Australian artists. My vision for this Australian Wildlife Art Community “Oz Nature Niche” is for it to grow into something huge - a massive network of resources if you like but I can’t do it on my own.
I have set this up so that
members may join freely and contribute freely in any way they can. I
think that if we can gather a pool of artists’ expertise, resources,
stimulus, galleries, portfolios etc and then advertise the sight by
using the badges available which we can embed on our own
websites and blogs we can’t help but open up a larger audience. I have
nearly 30,000 visitors who have checked out my website at http://www.lesley-smitheringale-fine-art.com so you can imagine that if the Nature Niche Badge
is embedded on my site, it should generate a lot of interest and
likewise when all members do the same. (You can see an example of a
badge on my website). The badges have the facility to show members' photos as well - even more dynamic.
I only hope that you will share my vision and help this site grow as I think it has so many wonderful opportunities. If you join and you have your own, fresh ideas - things I haven’t considered then please let me know or start a new forum discussion in the relevant groups.
What you will get for FREE if you join “Oz Nature Niche”:-
- your own personal home page which is customisable with themes
- your own blog with rss feed and facility to import your Wordpress blog into Oz Nature Niche
- your own e-mail at Oz Nature Niche
- rss feeds and the ability to embed your own rss feed from your website or blog
- your own gallery or portfolio, artist bio and resume, links to your other sites
- forums - join them and create them for advice, opinions and members' expertise
- option to invite friends to your Group(s)
- join specialised Wildlife Groups within Oz Nature Niche such as Fine Artists, Photographers, Digital Artists, Manga Cartoon Illustration & Comics, Crafts Merchandise & Textiles
- exposure to critiques and constructive criticism of your work
- new friends and connections with fellow Australian artists
- facility to add gadgets, widgets, music, videos including YouTube to your own personal page and Group pages
- engage in Live Chat within all of the Groups in Oz Nature Niche
- lots of exposure, networking opportunities and marketing possibilites
- to create a Badge to advertise Oz Nature Niche on your existing website and blog
- plus many more features still to come ….
Hope to meet you on the Nature Niche.
Kind Regards
Lesley

