by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist
Thank You to Everyone Who Participated in the 2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest.
We at The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey would like to congratulate everyone who took part in this year’s contest on their hard work and creativity!
It was a delight for us to see the variety of ways you all were able to get the word out about New Jersey’s wildlife and the work we all can do to protect it. Your posts generated thousands of “likes” and views while spreading the positive message of wildlife conservation.
And after much deliberation, we are excited to announce our winners for the 2021 Species On The Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest!
First Place Winner
Bennett Davenport
Moorestown, NJ
@TheBudgetMuseum
Bennett’s nature documentary approach to Species on the Edge with his show, The Budget Museum, brought a unique and engaging energy to this year’s contest. His fully produced videos about NJ’s ospreys showed a great deal of talent and hard work, while also grabbing viewer’s attention with humor and creativity. With a clear dedication and care for wildlife education, we hope to see Bennett continue his efforts to educate us about animals, both modern and prehistoric.
We’re so glad to name Bennett’s campaign this year’s winner for Species on the Edge 2.0.
Congratulations Bennett, and job well done!
Second Place
Anvitha Nekkanti
Parsippany, NJ
@ProtectThePipingPlovers
Anvitha’s series of posts about the piping plover were jam-packed with information and featured adorable artwork of the beach nesting birds and other shore fairing species. Her use of infographics, videos, and games made her posts a real multimedia extravaganza.
Third Place
Kaitlyn Chang
Fort Lee, NJ
@Kai_W_C
Kaityn’s digital painting timelapses of bobcats were breathtaking to watch and incredibly informative. Her passion and hard work made this series of posts a joy to watch and we’re excited to see where her artistic career takes her!
Runner-Up
Kayla Cotter
Manalapan, NJ
@BronzeCopperButterfly
Kayla’s series of posts were overflowing with info and drew a lot of attention. She utilized the platform to its fullest, making use of video, slides, hashtags, and games to spread the word about the bronze copper butterfly.
Congratulations to Bennett, Anvitha, Kaitlyn, and Kayla!
And thank you to all of our participants for putting your creativity to work to help New Jersey’s rare and imperiled wildlife.We hope you enjoyed getting to know some of these rare species better and hope you will stay involved in conservation.
A special thank you to contest sponsor PSEG Foundation.
