20th Anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest Sponsored by: The State Botanical Garden of Georgia--www.uga.edu/botgarden The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. (T.E.R.N.) The Georgia Department of Natural Resources--www.georgiawildlife.com Wildlife Resources Division Nongame Conservation Section 116 Rum Creek Drive Forsyth, Georgia 31029-6518 Please make copies available to: K-5 Teachers Art Teachers Science Teachers Media Specialists/Librarians Presorted Standard U S Postage Paid Mailsort Macon 31201 Celebrating 20 Years of Wildlife Art and Conservation ~ 1990-2010 Happy 20th Anniversary to Georgia's Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest! Attach a copy of the Poster Contest Entry Form (with tape) to the back of each poster. Poster Description: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 20th Anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest Entry Form Deadline: March 22, 2010 (NOTE: The Contest Committee will only accept ONE entry per division, per school - see Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines.) Student's Name: ______________________________________________________________ Age: ___________ Grade: ___________ Parent's Name(s): _____________________________________________________________ Home Address: _______________________________________________________________ City: __________________________________ ZIP Code: _____________________________ Phone: ________________________________ Student's Signature: ___________________________________________________________ School: ______________________________________________________________________ Contest Coordinator: ___________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________ City: __________________________________ ZIP Code: _____________________________ Phone: _____________________ Email: __________________________________________ Do you want this poster returned? Yes _____ No _____ (You MUST enclose exact postage - stamps only - and a mailing label for the entries to be returned.) Total number of posters mailed: 1 2 3 4 (circle one) Send poster contest entries to: Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest The State Botanical Garden of Georgia 2450 S. Milledge Ave. Athens, GA 30605 ENTRY DEADLINE: Posters must be postmarked by Monday, March 22, 2010 to participate. Additional copies available at: www.georgiawildlife.com or www.uga.edu/botgarden Teacher Tips The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia and The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. (T.E.R.N.) are delighted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest! The theme for this year's competition is "The Future of Georgia's Wildlife is in YOUR Hands," a topic that showcases how students can make a difference for the nongame wildlife and plants in our state. With the environmental movement on the rise, students are more aware of what their actions mean for the world in which we live. This year's anniversary contest is in celebration of the past 20 years of wildlife art and conservation as well as expressing what students can do to better the world our wildlife and plants inhabit. Whether it is in the schoolyard or the backyard, your assignment is to excite and motivate your students to bring the 2010 theme "The Future of Georgia's Wildlife is in YOUR Hands" to life! Plant a native fruit bearing shrub in the schoolyard for nesting and foraging habitat for wildlife, build a small pond or wetland habitat for amphibians, erect and maintain nesting and roosting structures for birds and bats, plant nectar gardens to provide a food source for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other nectar feeders the list goes on and on. Students should showcase in their artwork a conservation action as well as the Georgia wildlife and plants that are impacted. Their artwork may reflect an Eastern screech owl peeking out of the hole of a nesting box, a Tiger Swallowtail feeding on a milkweed plant or a spadefoot toad laying eggs in a shallow pond. So take your students outside and help them discover how to make a difference for Georgia's nongame plants and animals our wildlife's future is in their hands! Contest Details: Start with a Local Contest at Your School While following the Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines, your students will depict artistic drawings of their findings and will compete at the local level in a school-wide poster contest. First, second and third place winners should be chosen from your school's entries for the local level contest at your school. All participating students can receive place award ribbons and a Give Wildlife a Chance certificate (refer to Contest Awards section). Participating schools will then choose one first place winner from each division and mail the winning entries to The State Botanical Garden of Georgia to compete in the state level contest. These entries will be comprised of the four division categories described in the Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines section. First, second and third place winners will be chosen as state level winners from each Division level. These top 12 winners will be showcased in the 2010-2011 Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest winning calendar. Classroom Activities and Resources - Check with your school or public library, county extension agent, garden club, nature center or local nursery to see what information they offer on native wildlife and plants. - Host a guest speaker, go on a field trip to a natural area or display photos of native species in your classroom. - Use identification field guides to learn range and distribution of Georgia's native plants and animals. - Visit a butterfly garden and have your students draw what they see. - Help your students to distinguish the differences between native plants and introduced/exotic species such as kudzu, and learn how exotic species can displace the native species. - Create a schoolyard wildlife habitat with your students and teach them life skills and other educational goals while gardening for wildlife through the National Wildlife Federation's Schoolyard Habitats at www.nwf.org/schoolyard. - If you have internet access in your classroom or school library, show your students how to do an internet search for Georgia's native nongame wildlife. Visit sites such as: www.gwf.org, www.georgiawildlife.com, www.gos.org, http://museum.nhm.uga.edu, www.uga.edu/botgarden, www.uga.edu/srel, www.enature.com, http://southeast.fws.gov. Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines Sponsorship and Judging The 20th Anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest is sponsored by The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia and The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. (T.E.R.N.). The theme changes yearly, though the contest is an ongoing educational effort to help children and teachers gain awareness of Georgia's native plants and animals. Artists, as well as wildlife and plant professionals, judge the contest entries based on artistic interpretation, originality, visual impact and contest theme. Eligibility - The contest is open to individual students (no group drawings) in Kindergarten through 5th grades. - Home school groups, public schools and private schools are encouraged to participate. - Schools/groups may enter one poster from any or all divisions: Division 1: Kindergarten Division 3: Third and Fourth Grades Division 2: First and Second Grades Division 4: Fifth Grade - Each school/group may enter no more than at total of four posters to the state level contest (one per division). Size and Format - Outside dimensions cannot exceed 17" x 22" (vertically or horizontally). - Collages and other three-dimensional artwork are not suitable for this contest. - Posters should be submitted on white tag-board or on white art paper (no matting). - DO NOT FOLD. Submit art flat in a package or roll into a mailing tube. - If you want the students' entries returned, you MUST include exact postage (stamps only - no metered tapes) and mailing label or the entries will not be returned. Entry Form - Attach a copy of the 20th Anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest Entry Form to the back of each poster with tape. - Please DO NOT use glue or staples. - Send posters to The State Botanical Garden of Georgia postmarked by Monday, March 22, 2010: Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest The State Botanical Garden of Georgia 2450 S. Milledge Ave. Athens, GA 30605 P: (706) 542-6156 F: (706) 542-3826 Contest Rules 1. While following the Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines, instruct your students to depict artistic drawings of their findings and arrange for a local competition at your school. 2. Each entry must depict at least one native, nongame plant and animal of Georgia. 3. First, second and third place winners should be chosen at the local level (refer to Contest Awards section). 4. All participating students can receive place award ribbons and a Give Wildlife a Chance certificate (refer to Contest Awards section). 5. Only ONE school-wide winner from each division can be chosen to compete in the state level contest at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia (refer to Eligibility section). State level entries are normally the artwork of the first place school winners. 6. All contest entries must adhere to the contest theme: The Future of Georgia's Wildlife is in YOUR Hands 7. Avoid the use of game species (those legally hunted, trapped or fished) such as deer, turkey, raccoon, bobcat, squirrel and Canada geese. Note that, while these animals are important to the wildlife diversity of Georgia, this competition is emphasizing the exploration of Georgia's nongame plant and animal species. 8. Do not include pictures of exotic, zoo animals. 9. Do not include people as the main focus. 10. If necessary, please briefly describe the species depicted on the Poster Contest Entry Form. Contest Awards Certificates: Educators may request Give Wildlife a Chance certificates for all students who participate in their local school competition. There is no limit to the number of certificates a participating school can receive. Ribbons: Educators may request first, second and third place ribbons to present to class, grade level or school group participants. There is no limit to the number of ribbons a participating school can receive. State Level Award: All first, second and third place state level winners' artwork will be showcased in the Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest calendar and distributed to schools and education centers across Georgia. All state level contest entries will be on display at The State Botanical Garden in Athens during the weeks of April 5-19, 2010. All teachers and parents are encouraged to bring your students out to the Garden to see their work on display and enjoy an adventurous day at Georgia's State Botanical Garden! For directions to The State Botanical Garden, visit www.uga.edu/botgarden. Mail or fax the Request for Awards Form to: Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest The State Botanical Garden of Georgia 2450 S. Milledge Ave. Athens, GA 30605 Fax: (706) 542-3826 20th Anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest Request for Awards Form Number of Ribbons: First Place ________ Second Place ________ Third Place _________ Number of Certificates: ________ Total number of students participated in contest: _________ Contest Coordinator: ________________________________ Grade(s) Teach: ____________ School Name: _______________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City: ___________________________________________ Zip code: ____________________ Phone: ________________________________ Fax: ________________________________ Email: _________________________________________ County: _____________________ Available Contact Time(s): _____________________________________________________ The Future of Georgia's Wildlife is in YOUR Hands! Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest Celebrating 20 Years of Wildlife Art and Conservation ~ 1990-2010 The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia and The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. (T.E.R.N.) encourage you and your students to participate in the 20th anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest. This popular conservation art contest provides a unique opportunity for students to explore the wonders of Georgia's native plant and animal species through this year's theme, "The Future of Georgia's Wildlife is in YOUR Hands." Native species are those that naturally occur in Georgia, unlike exotic species that were introduced from other places. They come in all shapes and sizes -- from the large, moss-covered live oak tree of South Georgia (our state tree) to the little grass frog, the smallest frog species in North America! The vast majority of Georgia's native wildlife species are nongame (those which are not hunted, trapped or fished) and can include rare or endangered animals and plants such as the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and the hooded pitcherplant, an unusual carnivorous plant found in the longleaf pine ecosystem. There are approximately 3,600 species of nongame plants, 950 nongame vertebrate species and countless invertebrate species and nonvascular plants--all together, more than 95% of Georgia's wildlife species are considered nongame! Nongame wildlife can be found in your schoolyard, students' backyards or community parks. Some of the nongame wildlife that your students can depict in their artwork are songbirds, small mammals, salamanders, manatees, fish, snakes, hawks, insects and many species of native plants. Take your students on a field trip to a nearby state park, botanical garden or wildlife management area and set them free to observe and explore Georgia's wildlife! We look forward to working with you and your students at the 20th anniversary Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest! If you have any questions or need additional copies of this brochure, please visit these Web sites: www.georgiawildlife.com and www.uga.edu/botgarden, or contact: Kitty Spivey (478) 994-1438 or Cora Keber (706) 542-6156 GiveWildlifeAChance@gmail.com ckeber@uga.edu