Creativity contest boosts awareness of coastal plight

Louisiana students are being offered an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity while thinking of ways to enhance coastal restoration. America’s Wetland Foundation has announced that it offers a Keep your Eye on the Prize competition and $5,000 award to the schools of 10 students who best present through creative endeavors their ideas regarding land loss and coastal restoration in Louisiana.

The Keep Your Eye on the Prize program encourages students to write essays, produce artwork or photograph images that depict the story of coastal loss and what can be done to restore the region by asking and answering, “How can Louisiana adapt to coastal land loss and what changes can be made.”

“I think this is a wonderful idea,” Terrebonne Parish Superintendent Philip Martin said of the program. “Anything we can do to get our kids thinking about how to restore the coast and use what they learn in art and science is a real plus.”

“Part of the America’s Wetland Foundation’s mission is educating school children about the value of our coastal wetlands and ways to adapt to the future,” AWF chairman R. King Milling said. “We have seen students become increasingly more engaged as advocates for conservation and coastal stewardship, and we look forward to showcasing some of their creative ideas and providing them an opportunity to take the next step in saving America.”

Posters and information on submitting creative work has been distributed to school districts. Entries may be submitted online at www.americaswetland.com under the Get Involved tab. The deadline for entries is Jan. 15, 2012.

Two winners will be named in the categories of first and second grades, then grades three through five, grades six through eight and grades nine through 12. Additionally, two overall winners will be named.

“Previous Keep your Eye on the Prize contests have resulted in some outstanding study work,” AWF Managing Director Valsin Marmillion said. “This year we are challenging our students to think about the future of the coastline over the next 20 to 30 years. They hold the future of America’s wetlands in their hands.