by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education
For more than twenty years, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has been organizing the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest, inviting all fifth graders in New Jersey to participate. This year marked another successful run, with an array of imaginative and captivating submissions pouring in from all twenty-one counties. Each entry examined the plight of a threatened or endangered species native to New Jersey.
To take part in the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest, students must craft an original piece of handmade artwork and compose an essay responding to a provided prompt. Both components of their submission center around a single at-risk species from New Jersey. We typically find that some species are represented more than others. This year, the golden-winged warbler stood out with numerous striking artworks spotlighting this bird. Other frequently chosen species included the blue whale, bobcat, and red-headed woodpecker.
A panel of judges convened to determine the winners of the 2024, including Claudia Rocca from PSE&G, Barbara Kossman from Church & Dwight, CWF biologists Todd Pover and Christine Healy, and Barb McKee, a CWF volunteer and former art teacher. The panel reviewed all submissions, assessing the quality of the artwork and essays, as well as the accuracy of the species’ portrayal. Ultimately, one winner and one runner-up were selected to represent each county in New Jersey.
The first and second-place winners of the 2024 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest are…
Atlantic County
First Place – Mia Ann Dare (Belhaven Middle School)
Second Place – Alexa Buck (Reeds Road School)
Bergen County
First Place – Sienna Hahm (Primoris Academy)
Second Place – Sylvia Eliya (Highland Elementary School)
Burlington County
First Place – Lillian Angemi (Westfield Friends School)
Second Place – Ava Burdick (Eastampton Community School)
Camden County
First Place – Kinley Potts (Joyce Kilmer Elementary School)
Second Place – Wiktoria Wronski (John H. Glenn Elementary School)
Cape May County
First Place – Avery Fine (Dennis Township Elementary School)
Second Place – Brendan Peoples (Wildwood Catholic Academy)
Cumberland County
First Place – Eriana Perez (Compass Academy Charter School)
Second Place – Logan Flitcraft (Compass Academy Charter School)
Essex County
First Place – Geneva Gau (Yantacaw Elementary School)
Second Place – Maya Gutierrez Almeida (Oliver Street School)
Gloucester County
First Place – Cameron Clark (Williamstown Middle School)
Second Place – Kate Hathaway (Williamstown Middle School)
Hudson County
First Place – Ameer Khaled Rochdi (Miftaahul Uloom Academy)
Second Place – Yousef Elnomany (Miftaahul Uloom Academy)
Hunterdon County
First Place – Giuliana Martinez (Thomas B. Conley Elementary School)
Second Place – Gryphon Benjamin (Thomas B. Conley Elementary School)
Mercer County
First Place – Vedika Krishna (Stony Brook Elementary School)
Second Place – Samantha Lieu (Toll Gate Grammar School)
Middlesex County
First Place – Isara Chen Durek (James Madison Intermediate School)
Second Place – Aaradhya Sripadi (Menlo Park Elementary School)
Monmouth County
First Place – Lindsy Jimenez Garcia (Gregory School)
Second Place – Silla Mosera (Maple Place Middle School)
Morris County
First Place – Vorora Xu (Stonybrook Elementary School)
Second Place – Jake Johnson (Stonybrook Elementary School)
Ocean County
First Place – Joseph Santiago-Sanchez (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)
Second Place – Liam Normandin (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)
Passaic County
First Place – Vihaan Gandhi (Clifton School #9)
Second Place – Addison Alvarez (Clifton School #9)
Salem County
First Place – Chase Gearhart (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School)
Second Place – Layla Falen (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School)
Somerset County
First Place – Isabella Santibanez (School of Saint Elizabeth)
Second Place – Anishka Suhas (Mt. Horeb School)
Sussex County
First Place – Lily Ryan (Lounsberry Hollow School)
Second Place – Tyler Hitchmough (Sandyston-Walpack Consolodated School)
Union County
First Place – Chelsea Li (Jefferson Elementary School)
Second Place – Wren Malester-Poris (Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School)
Warren County
First Place – Kate Tipton (Harmony Township School)
Second Place – Patricia Galione (Ridge and Valley Charter School)
We thank our sponsors for their generous support of this contest: PSEG Foundation, Atlantic City Electric, Church & Dwight, NJEA, Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery, and Zoological Society of New Jersey.
Tags: art, Education, Essay, Fifth-grade, New Jersey, Species on the Edge