In celebration of national Endangered Species Day on May 20, students from across the country were invited to create artwork about species that could be headed for extinction. Although the number of entries was somewhat limited, I have been much impressed with more than a few of these pieces.
The Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest is sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Coalition, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and International Child Art Foundation. The contest was established to encourage students to learn about threatened and endangered species and to express their understanding and feelings through art.
Judges included Wyland, the well known marine life artist; Jack Hanna, host of television shows featuring wild animals; David Littschwager, a freelance photographer and contributor to National Geographic magazine; Susan Middleton, a photographer and author who has produced several books of nature photography; and Alice Tangerini, botanical illustrator for the Smithsonian Institution. Entries were submitted in February and March.
The painting of Southern Resident Killer Whales was created by 17-year-old Christopher Chen of Oak Grove, Calif. The artwork was named a semifinalist in the endangered species art contest. Of course, those of us who live in the Puget Sound area are at least somewhat familiar with the three pods of Southern Resident orcas, a population listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. See NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight.
Seven-year-old Rachel Yang of Belmont, Calif., was named the winner among a much younger group of students, those in the kindergarten-to-second-grade division. Her picture of yelloweye rockfish should also spark interest for Puget Sound residents, as these fish are listed as threatened in the Puget Sound region. See NOAA’s “Rockfish in Puget Sound/Georgia Basin.”
The picture of Atlantic salmon, third on this page, by Katrina Sharonin, 12, took first place among the sixth through eight graders. I thought the hourglass was an important element, something to show that the species may be running out of time. Although we think of Atlantic salmon as farmed fish on the West Coast, remnant populations of wild Atlantic salmon can still be found in central and eastern Maine. Once abundant along the East Coast, Atlantic salmon are now one of the most endangered species in the U.S. See NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight. By the way, Katrina is another student from Belmont, Calif., which had a large number of excellent entries.
Elizabeth Kiernicki, 17, of Pingree Grove, Ill., was the first-place winner among the students in grades 9 through 12 with her picture of the northern spotted owl. The spotted owl, listed as threatened, was once found in forests from Southwest British Columbia through Western Washington and Western Oregon and as far south as San Francisco Bay. Now, remnant populations are in decline in scattered areas, primarily remaining segments of old-growth forests, while a significant population survives on the Olympic Peninsula. See U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service webpage.
Other semifinalists include Matthew Lei, 11, of Portland, Ore., with his portrait of a mother gray whale and her calf, and Michelle Chang, 7, of Centrevile, Va., with her picture of a mother polar bear and her cub waiting on a chunk for broken ice.
To see all the semifinalists, visit the Flikr page showing semifinalists or you can scan through all the entries by going to the Flikr page organized by grade level.
Endangered Species Day will be celebrated with events organized by groups around the country. You can find registered events on the webpage “Celebrate Endangered Species Day,” although you may need to do an Internet search for details.
It’s not hard to find information about the Endangered Species Act or individual species with an Internet search engine, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives you a place to start with its Endangered Species Day website.
Endangered Species Day was designated by U.S. Senate resolution in 2006 to encourage teachers across the country to spend at least 30 minutes “informing students about threats to, and the restoration of, endangered species around the world” and to encourage organizations and business to help produce educational materials.
As far as I can tell, a 2012 Senate resolution was the last time that Congress officially recognized Endangered Species Day, although it has continued with the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
