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2,387 photographs, 237 participants: documenting Colombia’s biodiversity through Wiki Loves Earth 2026
Over two months, people across Colombia photographed landscapes, species, and protected areas for Wiki Loves Earth 2026. Together, 237 participants contributed 2,387 images to Wikimedia Commons—placing Colombia tenth internationally and second among participating Latin American countries.
But the numbers tell only part of the story. Behind those 2,387 images was a community effort built around photography, learning, partnerships, and a shared interest in documenting Colombia’s biodiversity as free knowledge.
From looking to documenting: Wiki Loves Earth in Colombia
There are places we know because we travel through them, species we discover when we learn to observe them, and territories we begin to value when we find new ways to tell their stories.
In 2026, the Wikimedia community in Colombia turned its attention to the country’s biodiversity through Wiki Loves Earth, the international photography competition that invites people to document natural areas and natural heritage and share these images as free knowledge on Wikimedia Commons.
The Colombian edition of Wiki Loves Earth 2026 brought that invitation into communities and territories across the country. The result placed Colombia among the ten countries and territories with the highest number of photographs contributed in an edition that brought together participants from 61 countries and territories around the world.
Behind that international result, however, was a local story: people learning, walking, photographing, collaborating, and choosing to look at their territories with new perspectives.
A campaign that grew through community participation
Wiki Loves Earth 2026 in Colombia is part of the work that Wikimedia Colombia carries out through the Technology and Communities Program (TyC) to strengthen the documentation and circulation of free knowledge about biodiversity.
The campaign built on a recent experience: Wikivacaciones 2024–2025, a photography campaign developed within TyC’s biodiversity focus. That initiative brought together 1,345 photographs, 87 participants, and representation from 28 departments of the country.
In 2026, the experience grew substantially. Participants contributed 2,387 photographs—1,042 more than during Wikivacaciones 2024–2025, a 77.5% increase. Participation rose from 87 to 237 people, an increase of 172.4% compared with the previous year.
Growth was also visible across the territory. Based on georeferenced information and the distribution map of the photographs, the campaign reached at least 26 departments and territorial entities of Colombia, including the Archipiélago de San Andrés and Providencia.
The collaboration network expanded as well. More than seven partner and co-organizing organizations took part, including Universidad de La Salle, Museo de La Salle de Bogotá, Instituto Humboldt, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto de Estudios Ambientales (IDEA), Fundación Soy Conservación, and Asociación Primatológica Colombiana.
Together, these figures show how a documentation initiative can also become a meeting point between Wikimedia communities, academic institutions, environmental organizations, and people interested in photography and nature.
Beyond uploading photographs: learning and exploring together
The campaign did not take place only in front of a screen.
During the two-month call for participation, we held two photo walks: one in Sevilla and Caicedoni, around La Rana Rubí Reserve, and another at the Bogotá Botanical Garden. These gatherings brought the campaign into specific places and created opportunities to observe, photograph, and document biodiversity together.
The campaign also included three virtual workshops on how to upload and document photographs on Wikimedia Commons. Held on May 21, June 4, and June 18, the sessions supported participants as they created accounts, uploaded photographs, and documented their files correctly. In total, Wiki Loves Earth 2026 in Colombia included five training and mobilization activities.
In 2026, virtual training was combined with in-person encounters centered on photography. The campaign was therefore not only about receiving images: it also sought to welcome new people into the Wikimedia ecosystem and strengthen the capacities of those already contributing to free knowledge.
Nine photographs, three ways of looking at biodiversity
To evaluate the photographs, we invited a jury composed of Felipe Villegas Vélez, Libardo Muñoz and William Santiago Castillo Acero Together, their backgrounds brought experience in biology, photography, science communication, Wikimedia, and audiovisual production.
The jury evaluated the photographs according to four criteria:
- Technical quality: sharpness, exposure, composition, and use of light.
- Encyclopedic value: usefulness of the image for illustrating content about biodiversity and natural areas.
- Environmental relevance: the image’s ability to reflect the importance of the natural environment and its conservation.
- Originality: creativity and visual approach of the photograph.
The national competition had three categories: Landscapes, Macro / Close-up, and Protected Areas of Colombia. Three winning photographs were selected in each category, for a total of nine images recognized by the jury.
Landscapes
| PLACE | LINK | USER |
| 1 | File:Inundación Rio Sinú.jpg | Maracome |
| 2 | File:Cuenca Media del Río Inírida, Guainía.jpg 41.jpg | Herme Cantero |
| 3 | File:Cañones erosionados del desierto gris.jpg | Cathetovar |
These photographs show some of the landscapes that form part of the country’s geographic diversity and make available images that can be reused to document these territories.
Macro / Close-up
This category offered a closer look at details of biodiversity that often go unnoticed: animal behaviors, organisms, and textures that take on a new dimension when observed through photography.
Protected Areas of Colombia
| PLACE | LINK | USER |
| 1 | File:Cuando la cordillera se une con el azul de la bandera.jpg | LentedeBerilo |
| 2 | File:Aguila Real de Montaña.jpg | Jose Arbelaez 78 |
| 3 | File:Laguna la llorona.jpg | Natalia gferia |
These photographs help make visible some of the country’s protected natural spaces and the species and landscapes that are part of them.
One final choice: the public’s favorite
The national competition concluded with one final choice: the Public’s Favorite.
Ten photographs were selected for this category, featuring birds, mammals, insects, and scenes from different Colombian ecosystems and territories. Throughout August, the community was invited to vote for their favorites through Wikimedia Colombia’s Instagram account, @Wikimediaco.
Basiliscus galeritus 2026.jpg, byXimmoY, was chosen as the Public’s Favorite, receiving more than 4,000 likes on Instagram.
The public vote extended the recognition beyond the jury’s selection and created an opportunity for thousands of people to discover the participating photographs and, through them, connect with Colombia’s biodiversity.
From Colombia to the international stage
The campaign’s results also reached the international stage. With 2,387 photographs, Colombia ranked 10th among the international entries in Wiki Loves Earth 2026.
It was also the Latin American country with the second-highest number of photographs among the five participating countries from the region, behind only Brazil. Colombian photographs represented approximately 2.87% of the 83,226 photographs registered internationally.
The result reflects the Wikimedia Colombia’s ability to mobilize people around a shared theme and contribute to an initiative with global reach. It also points to something broader: Colombian biodiversity can have a place in global conversations about free knowledge when communities are willing to document and share it.
The story continues beyond the competition
The conclusion of Wiki Loves Earth 2026 does not mean that the documentation of Colombian biodiversity comes to an end. The photographs produced during the campaign become part of a broader effort to build and strengthen a free visual archive of the country’s ecosystems and species.
That work continues through initiatives such as Biodiversity in Colombia, a Wikimedia Colombia campaign that seeks to encourage the documentation and visibility of Colombian biodiversity by releasing photographs of species and ecosystems found in the country.
Wiki Loves Earth images can continue contributing to this purpose by documenting species, landscapes, and ecosystems and making them available for anyone to consult and reuse. The value of a photograph does not end when a competition is over.
An image published under a free license can continue circulating: illustrating Wikipedia articles, supporting educational processes, contributing to research, or helping a species or territory have a freely available visual representation on the Internet.
In this way, Wiki Loves Earth 2026 in Colombia becomes another part of an ongoing process: continuing to observe, document, and share Colombia’s biodiversity as open knowledge.
And there are still many species, landscapes, and territories left to photograph.
