On January 8th, the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS (GPA) called for any interested students to take part in a National Conservation Poster Contest, as many of the GPA students are talented in drawing and painting, and also love the great nature and want to keep it that beautiful way.
Theme for 2021: Healthy Forests = Healthy Communities
Who Can Participate?
The Conservation Poster Contest is open to all students in grades 2-12, public, private, home schooled and youth groups included.and students compete in grade categories. Prizes for NJ Statewide Competition: 1st Place $200, 2nd Place $100, 3rd Place $50.
Why Participate?
Designing a poster and researching the theme can give you a voice in your community about important conservation issues. Good posters capture people’s attention and deliver stories in a way that everyone can understand. A powerful graphic can inspire people to be concerned about conservation.
Information Resources:
Trees are a big part of the resources we use every day. Trees and plants give us clean air and water. Trees and their roots help keep soil where it belongs. Trees give us wood to build our homes. We depend upon trees every day. Forests are one of the most vital ecosystems to human life. They are alive and working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We aren’t the only ones that need trees. Animals need trees too. Arboreal animals are animals that spend most of their time in trees, such as squirrels, bats, birds, monkeys, snake and frogs. Native wildlife is becoming decimated by lack of food, plant species are disappearing and local industry has been impacted due to declining tree populations. Providing accurate information is essential. Find out what trees grow in your area and see what your community is doing to help them. You will find a variety of opinions from a variety of sources about how to best care for our trees.
DID YOU KNOW…..
Trees need help to grow some fruits we eat like sweet cherries and apples. The trees need help from pollinators like bees. The bees carry pollen from part of the bloom to another part so fruit can grow. Some soap is made from tree sap. Trees help cool the earth by providing shade. It is 10 to 15 degrees cooler in the shade than in the sun. Forests help make it rain. Trees soak up water from the soil, heat from the sun makes the leaves lose the water and it ends up in the atmosphere. Tree parts have been used to make medicine for thousands of years. Trees are a renewable resource. When trees are harvested for use, the trees can be replaced by planting new trees. It is important to plant native trees. They are adapted to your soil as well as good for native wildlife food and shelter.
Rules:
These rules must be followed for your poster to be accepted by your local Soil Conservation District. Entries that do not conform to the rules will not be judged. Please review and follow your local Soil District rules for the deadline!
1. Clearly print your name and information on the entry form AND tape the completed entry form to the back of your poster.
2. Tape a 1-3 sentence explanation of your poster, neatly written on a 3” x 5” or 4” x 6” index card, to the back of the poster. Be sure to write your name and county on the index card.
3. Contest theme “Healthy Forests = Healthy Communities ” must appear somewhere in your poster. Leave a 1-inch border of white space at the edges of the poster; lettering should not run on to the edges.
4. The poster must be flat, no 3-D objects.
5. Poster size must be between 8.5″ x 11″ and 22″ x 28″.
6. Any medium may be used including paint, crayons, colored pencils, charcoal and paper. Computer designed artwork is allowed but clip art is not acceptable. No collage or montage.
7. One poster per student.
8. The poster must be the original artwork of the student.
9. ENTRY DEADLINE: See Local District Rules
10. Decisions of the judges are final and all entries become the property of the contest sponsors.
Poster Evaluations:
Posters will be judged on the following criteria: Relevance to contest theme: “Healthy Forest = Healthy Communities” — Conservation message — Visual effectiveness — Originality — Overall appeal
AYLUS participants will receive their hours. We look forward to creative poster submissions from you!
You can find resources at your school or public library, science books, local newspapers, nature centers and from the NACD website www.nacdnet.org Stewardship & Education section. Get guidance from your teacher or parents to find information on the internet about healthy forests.
Web Resources:
- https://www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/conservation-districtdirectory/
- https://healthyforests.org/
- http://www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/stewardship-program/
- https://www.plt.org/greenschools
- https://www.treepeople.org/tree-benefits
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/learn/kids
- https://discovertheforest.org/
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/about/
- https://www.learnforests.org/
Participants: Cassie Tammy Wang, and more!
