The Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District holding a stewardship poster contest for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The District’s Lynn Carey said the annual contest allows the Conservation District a chance to reach out to young people with information about habitats and their importance.
“We feel that the future for conservation itself lies you know in the youth,” Carey said. “And the more things we can do to reach out to them to educate them and encourage them to participate in conservation is very vital to our work as an agency.”
This year’s contest theme is “Home is Where the Habitat is,” which is meant to encourage participants to think about how important habitats are to the environment and everyday life.
“We take our first place winners in each of our categories and submit those to our state contest,” Carey said. “We’ve been fortunate to have several state winners over the years, and even a few have went on to be national winners.”
Carey said the local first place winner will receive a $25 cash prize, and the runner up will get $15. She said those prizes increase significantly at the higher levels of the contest.
In addition to the potential prize money, Carey said the contest is an opportunity for kids to learn about habitats, while using their artistic skills to convey what habitats mean to them. Carey said the contest may help kids take an interest in a conservation career path.
Carey said there are a few things kids can do to get an early start with conserving their environment.
“A lot would be dependent on where they live, or of there’s an area at their school they might develop,” Carey said. “Anything as simple as a birdhouse or a bird bath or something like that to just get them started would be simplest.”
The deadline to submit entries to the SWCD office in Crossville is October 7.
