Participating in the 2014 Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest

“We encourage teachers and their young artists in grades K-12 (as well as those in homeschools and youth groups) to participate in the 2014 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest. The contest provides students with an opportunity to learn about endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. All of the basic information you need to participate in the contest is included in the following sections:

Contest Background

Teacher/School Registration

Eligibility

Teacher’s Checklist

Subject Matter

Resources

Judging

Prizes

Ownership

Contest Sponsors

Background

The Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest is an integral part of the 9th annual national Endangered Species Day, celebrated on May 16, 2014. Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is a celebration of the nation’s wildlife and wild places.  It recognizes the importance of endangered species and is an occasion to educate the public on how to protect them.

Last year, nearly 2,200 young artists from schools, homeschools, and youth activity and art programs throughout the country participated in the Saving Endangered Species Art Contest. The winners were chosen by a prestigious panel of judges, including artists, educators, photographers, and conservationists.

The contest is organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the International Child Art Foundation.

Teachers can include the Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest as a featured activity for Youth Art Month in March 2014.

Teacher/School Registration

To enable us to contact the contest semi-finalists and winners, we ask that you complete an online registration form.

Please complete all fields in the form. Once you submit this information, we will send you an e-mail including a form for you to print out, complete, and attach to each artwork that you are submitting. We require your contact information so that we can contact semi-finalists and winners through you. If you don’t receive our email within an hour, check your spam/junk mailbox.

When you receive the form, please:

1) Print one copy of the form for each artwork that you are submitting for the contest.

2) Fill in complete information for the artist and his/her artwork.

3) Tape the form to the back of the corresponding piece of artwork.

4) Write DO NOT BEND on the envelope to ensure safe delivery!

Eligibility

Students in kindergarten through high school (K-12) are eligible to enter the art contest.

Young artists who are homeschooled and members of youth groups are also eligible to submit their art.

In order to provide a competitive opportunity for as many youths as possible, the grand prize winner is not eligible to win again for three years.

Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2014.

Teacher Checklist

Please use this checklist to ensure that your students’ artwork is eligible for entry in the art contest:

The contest is open to students in grades K-12 residing in the United States.

☐ Artwork should depict threatened/endangered species that live or migrate within the United States. (Download a list of U.S. threatened/endangered Species.)

☐ Artwork must be the entrant’s original, hand-drawn creation and may not be traced or copied from published photographs or other artists’ works. Students may, however, use photographs or published images as guides.

☐ Entries may be multicolor, black and white, or a single color, using ink, oil or acrylic paint, watercolor, pastel, crayon, or pencil. Techniques may include scratch-board, airbrush, linoleum printing, paper collage, dry brush, crosshatch, pointillism.

☐ Photography, weak pencil and chalk drawings, or computer-generated art are not eligible.

☐ The physical size of submitted artwork must be 8 1/2″ x 11″ or smaller and less than 1/8″ thick.

☐ No lettering, words, signatures, or initials may appear on the front of the artwork.

☐ Entries should not be matted, mounted, laminated, framed, or folded.

☐ Submissions become property of the Endangered Species Coalition and will not be returned. You’re encouraged to make copies of students’ entries before sending.

☐ Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2014.

☐ You must use the mailing label marked “Do Not Bend” that is included on the entry form.

Subject Matter

Artwork should highlight one or more land- and/or ocean-dwelling species that is currently listed as threatened or endangered and either resides in or migrates to the United States—mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, plant, and/or invertebrate (e.g., insect, spider, snail, coral, crustacean or clam).

The Saving Endangered Species art contest is a celebration of America’s success and leadership in protecting threatened and endangered species. We strongly encourage students to incorporate a positive perspective in their artwork. For example, their illustrations can portray a species success story: an imperiled species that has recovered thanks to the protections provided by the Endangered Species Act. The Act has been saving plants and animals from extinction for forty years. (See Resources below for lists of success stories.)

Resources

You can download a spreadsheet containing current threatened and endangered species in the United States.

Also visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/index.htm for additional information on marine species.

To find success stories in every state, see: http://www.esasuccess.org/ and http://www.fws.gov/endangered/map.

In addition, you’ll find an art instructor’s lesson plan and other educational materials on the Endangered Species Day website: www.EndangeredSpeciesDay.org.  You will also see the winning entries from the 2013 Youth Art Contest.

Judging Criteria

Winners will be chosen in four categories: Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12. From these, one national winner will be selected in 2014. Initial judging will be conducted by the International Child Art Foundation. The final winners will be chosen by a prestigious panel of judges, including artists, educators, photographers, and conservationists. The art will be judged on the basis of four primary artistic elements:

• Concept:  How well the work relates to the endangered species theme
• Composition:  How well the elements of line and form work together
• Color:  How color enhances the artwork
• Expression: How imaginatively the work conveys an idea or emotion. Artists may wish to incorporate a specific “story” in their illustrations. For example, they could show the species in its habitat, with someone in the background helping to clean up the area.

Judges pay particular attention to the concept or story that the work of art tells, in choosing the grand prizewinner. We encourage artists to pay attention to the theme of the concept—saving species.

Submission Guidelines

• The entry must have the name, grade and title on the back of the submission in pencil.
• Attach a completed entry form with tape or other fixative to the back of artwork. If using glue, please be careful to use one that will not run through and damage the artwork. No paperclips.
• Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2014
• Entries must use the address label included at the end of the online entry form.

Prizes

Winners will be chosen in the four age categories. From these, one grand prize-winner will receive a round-trip flight to Washington, D.C. for him/herself and one guardian to attend a reception in May. (Accommodations will also be provided. Prize is not redeemable for cash. All other expenses are the responsibility of the winner.) In addition, the grand prize-winner will receive a special art lesson from a professional wildlife artist (via Skype) and $50 worth of art supplies of their choice.

Each of the grade category winners (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) will receive a special plaque and $25 worth of art supplies.

Second and third place finishers will receive a special certificate, and contest semi-finalists (top 10 in each grade category) will also receive a certificate.

In addition, teachers/parents/youth leaders can download and print a Certificate of Participation (available on Endangered Species Day website) for all contest entrants.

An exhibition of the artwork and other promotions are also planned.

Ownership

All submissions become property of the Endangered Species Coalition. Through submission of artwork, entrants and their legal guardians grant non-exclusive reproduction and publication rights to the works submitted, which will not be returned. Though the Endangered Species Coalition will attempt to treat all submitted work with the utmost care, the Endangered Species Coalition is not responsible for any damage or loss that may occur due to U.S. Postal Service handling. Other contest partners, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the International Child Art Foundation will also have permission to use the artwork (with appropriate reference to the Youth Art Contest.)

Contest Partners

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the premier government agency dedicated to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats. It is the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is management of these important natural resources for the American public. The Service also helps ensure a healthy environment for people through its work benefiting wildlife, and by providing opportunities for Americans to enjoy the outdoors and our shared natural heritage.

www.fws.gov

Endangered Species Coalition

The Endangered Species Coalition is a national network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, education, religious, sporting, outdoor recreation, humane, business and community groups across the country. Through public education, scientific information and citizen participation, we work to protect our nation’s wildlife and wild places. The Endangered Species Coalition is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition working with concerned citizens and decision-makers to protect endangered species and habitat.

www.endangered.org

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation, and your link to helping animals in their native habitats.

www.aza.org

International Child Art Foundation

The International Child Art Foundation has served as the leading art and creativity organization for American children and their international counterparts since 1997. The ICAF employs the power of the arts for the development of creativity and empathy—key attributes of successful learners and leaders in the 21st century. To date, approximately five million children have directly benefitted from the ICAF programs, and more than 110,000 people have participated in the ICAF festivals and exhibitions.”

**Special thanks to the “Endangered Species Coalition” for providing this information! http://www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/saving-endangered-species-youth-art-contest/

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Discovery Channel premieres a new special on July 7th. The 90-minute documentary follows an expedition team into the Cascade Mountains to discover the fate of Washington’s pioneer pack of wolves, the Lookout Pack, with surprising results.

SATURDAY, JULY 7th, Discovery Channel, 8:00 pm PT/ET*

(*Check local listings, as times may vary)

Wolves are making a comeback in the Northwest, but they face challenges from illegal killing and loss of habitat. It’s up to all of us to decide their future.

About the documentary: Man vs. Wolf

Few other animals inspire such passion as the wolf. For thousands of years they were America’s most widely distributed predator. European colonists brought centuries-old animosity toward the wolf with them to North America, and as Americans and their livestock expanded west, local predator control escalated into a full-scale wolf-eradication program. By the early 20th century, more than a million wolves had been poisoned, trapped, or shot. Pushed to the brink of extinction, the wolf found protection under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) only to be stripped of that protection in the northern Rockies by the U.S. Congress in 2011. As rumors of new wolf packs in the Pacific Northwest abound, Discovery Channel explores the sightings in Man vs. Wolf which premieres on Saturday, July 7 at 8 PM ET/PT (check local listings).

Man vs. Wolf follows an elite team through the rugged terrain of one of America’s great wilderness areas, the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, as they search for an elusive and mysterious pack of 10 wolves, the “Lookout Pack,” rumored to be in the area. These wolves were the first to have been discovered there in nearly 100 years. Team leader Jasmine Minbashian, of Conservation Northwest, wolf tracker Isaac Babcock, and wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan spend eight weeks in the Cascade Mountains spanning a six-month period to not only confirm the existence of the wolf pack but document their presence on camera.

The ESA brought protection to wolves in 1973 and in May 2011, for the first time ever, the U.S. Congress removed an animal, the Northern Rockies gray wolf, from the ESA’s protection, taking away the very protection that prevented its annihilation. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is now considering whether or not wolves in the Pacific Northwest warrant protection.

In addition to investigating the “Lookout Pack” sightings, Man vs. Wolf also uncovers how the possibility of a wolf pack’s existence can lead some to take forceful actions, and the results from those actions.

Are wolves back in the Pacific Northwest to stay? How did they make their way into the Cascades? Are they establishing breeding populations? As more sightings of wolves are reported closer to major cities, finding these astute animals and the answers to these questions, and more, has never been as important. It will require every ounce of field skill and technical expertise Minbashian and the crew can muster.

Man vs. Wolf was executive produced by Tim Martin with Jonny Keeling, Susanna Handslip, and Rowan Musgrave for BBC and executive produced by James Manfull with John Cavanagh for Discovery Channel.”

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“WHAT AN AMAZING STORY WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS!! … and we launched a 20-day funding campaign to get everyone on board.

THIS IS TRULY A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY to document a journey that may never happen again!! … and you can be part of it with your input, your backing, and even coming with us on the road if you are up for it!

Wolf Connection’s pack of Ambassadors has been invited to participate in a sacred gathering …The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers is holding their 11th Council Gathering in Lame Deer, Montana at the end of July. This special event is the culmination of The Ride Home, a nearly 1,400 mile horseback ride in Remembrance of the Cheyenne Exodus of 1878.

“The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers represents a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for the Earth, all Her inhabitants, all the children and for the next seven generations to come. They bring together a wealth of sacred wisdom from world-wide traditions that honors intuition and spirit in a way that is often absent from daily life. The purpose of the Ride and Council is generational healing and a uniting between tribes to become one tribe – of humankind.”

Both the grandmothers and event organizers felt that Wolf Medicine and the long history of connection between wolf and man needed to be part of this gathering. We are honored that they felt that our human and wolf pack is a worthy representative of this unique bond.

On the week of July 16th, staff, backing guests, and three members of our pack will be journeying to meet the horse riders in South Dakota and travel the last 110 miles of The Ride Home in order to arrive at Lame Deer, Montana together and participate in the Council with the Grandmothers.

Now, n order to get there, we have to drive through several wolf-hunting states which will make journey unpredictable and the film all the more interesting.

As you can imagine, this is a huge logistic undertaking! … BUT with your super cool backing we are going to document every aspect of the journey in a film that will preserve the this amazing experience so it can be passed on.

THE FILM:

This documentary will send a powerful global message on our often-forgoten kindship and deep bond with animals in general and wolves in particular, and their key role in our survival on this planet AND on the importance of traditional ritual and ceremony as a way to unite humanity.

IT WILL INCLUDE:

* BEFORE: Training of the animals, preparation of the vehicles, film pre-production, and logistics planning

* DURING: The trip to and from Montana through wolf-hunting territory with all the unexpected situations that can create. The encounter with the horse riders and the united journey to meet the Grandmothers. The meeting with the 13 Grandmothers and wolf blessing.

* AFTER: Journey back to California, conclusion and learnings, post production.

LOGISTICS:

There are many elements that need to be considered in a trip like this:

* The first challenge is the management of the animals which requires great knowledge and a deep bond and connection with them. We are transporting 85-130 lb highly active animals in small travelling cages next to each other (travelling, feeding, and sleeping). This means they must have breaks every 2-3 hours to relieve themselves and exercise to prevent them from accumulating anxiety that could be vented on each other or the handlers. Each time we get them out of the cage we run the risk of them not wanting to go back in. Oh Well

* We are crossing several states where wolves are being hunted and people may have a less-than-friendly attitude towards them. This makes it challenging to find safe places to stop for provisions and spend the night. This must be mapped in advance with options for camping grounds and RV parks along the way. That’s the reason we will be using a travelling trailer with a full bathroom and kitchen which will give us the much-needed independence.

* We cannot run the risk of mechanical difficulties that would leave us stranded with a pack of wolves in unfriendly territory, so both the pulling truck and the trailer must be in excellent operating condition.

* Last, but not least, a trip like this will be physically and mentally demanding on the crew. We must make sure that we have all the supplies and resources needed for a minimal level of comfort and replenishment.

* The film crew will be traveling in a separate vehicle to have the independence needed to shoot the caravan on the road, leaving from and arriving to places.”

For more information regarding this project and the case, please visit their website at: 
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolfconnection/wolf-connection-and-the-13-grandmothers-documentar

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