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Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Winners Gather for a Special Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, June 19th, 2024

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Winners of the 22nd annual Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest gathered to celebrate their accomplishments at an awards ceremony on June 12, 2024, at Mercer County Wildlife Center in Lambertville, New Jersey.

The Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest is open each year to all fifth graders in New Jersey. To enter, students choose a threatened or endangered New Jersey species which they research and advocate for through an original essay and art piece. Earlier this year, a panel of judges convened to choose a first and second-place winner from each New Jersey county.

The ceremony was held outdoors at the Mercer County Wildlife Center

This year’s first-place winners joined CWF’s Executive Director, Liz Silvernail, and Director of Education, Rachel McGovern for their awards ceremony. Students received certificates and had their art and essays displayed for attendees to view. The winner from Mercer County (Vedika Krishna from Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington) also received a special prize from Mercer County Park Commission’s Acting Executive Director, Joseph Pizza during the ceremony.

From left: Rachel McGovern, CWF Director of Education; Liz Silvernail, CWF Executive Director; Vedika Krishna, first-place winner from Mercer County; Joseph Pizza, Acting Executive Director of the Mercer County Park Commission
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2024 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Winners Announced

Tuesday, March 26th, 2024

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.

Blue Whale by Chelsea Li (Jefferson Elementary School, Union County)
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Species on the Edge Contest Winners Celebrate at Awards Ceremony

Saturday, September 9th, 2023
Mercer County Wildlife Center Director Diane Nickerson, CWF Executive Director Liz Silvernail, CWF Board Member and Atlantic City Electric Environmental Manager Lisa Thomas, Mercer County Park Commission Deputy Director Joseph Pizza, and CWF Director of Education Rachel McGovern join the 2023 Species on the Edge Contest Winners.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey recognized the winners of the 21st annual Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest at an awards ceremony held at Mercer County Wildlife Center. The statewide educational contest empowers fifth graders to advocate for an endangered or threatened wildlife species through their research, artwork, and writing.

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Species on the Edge Contest Winners from Previous Years Visit The Raptor Trust

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Each year, CWF hosts the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest for fifth grade students in New Jersey. Thousands of students submit artwork and essays advocating for the protection of a threatened or endangered New Jersey species of their choice. Winners of this contest attend field trips and events during their winning year and are invited to events for years after to continue learning about wildlife and related careers in New Jersey.

Past contest winners, along with a parent or guardian, gathered at The Raptor Trust’s education center to learn about avian rehabilitation.

Last month, a group of past contest winners braved the rain and cold to attend a special program and tour at The Raptor Trust in Millington, New Jersey. The Raptor Trust provides medical care and rehabilitation to injured and orphaned birds, leads educational programs to benefit native birds, and provides permanent homes to many non-releasable raptors.

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Species on the Edge Contest Winners Celebrate at Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

by Rachel McGovern

Species on the Edge Winners Show Off their Art During the Awards Ceremony

The annual Species on the Edge Art and Essay Contest invites all fifth-grade students in New Jersey to choose a threatened or endangered animal species that lives in the state to celebrate with an essay and original art piece. We received thousands of submissions in 2022, but only one could be chosen from each county. The winners’ extraordinary artistic talent and thorough research secured their first-place positions.

An awards ceremony for those winners was held on August 23rd. The awards ceremony brought the winners, their loved ones, and teachers out for an afternoon at the Mercer County Wildlife Center. The ceremony took place outdoors near animal enclosures that hold non-releasable wildlife- some of the birds were even calling throughout the ceremony! Winners received their certificates and a gift bag to commemorate their achievements.

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