Illinois EPA announces annual competition for fifth and sixth grade students

SPRINGFIELD --- Fifth and sixth grade writers and artists from around Illinois are invited to participate in this year's Poster, Poetry and Prose Contest, annually sponsored by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to increase awareness of environmental issues.

 

The contest, which is a companion to the IEPA's environmental education packet, Environmental Pathways - Youth Investigating Pollution Issues in Illinois, gives students an opportunity to express and share what they have learned about the importance of protecting our air, land and water. The education packet is updated and distributed in December to teachers.  It meets the criteria of the North American Association for Environmental Education's, Environmental Education Materials: Guidelines for Excellence, and is correlated with the Illinois Leaning Standards.

 

"The contest, now in its 19^th year, continues to be a popular and effective way to tap into the creativity of Illinois students and increase the awareness of the need for environmental stewardship by all of us, no matter what our age," said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott.

 

This year's theme focuses on the importance of clean water and the conservation of our drinking water, with "Water: Conserve it, We Deserve It!" as the event's theme.  Special emphasis is given to air, land or water on a rotating basis. 

 

Each school can enter up to 12 (six posters and six written) works.  Entries must be postmarked and sent in to the Illinois EPA by February 17.  An in-house panel from the IEPA judges all entries to select the finalists, whose entries are then judged by an outside panel of authorities to determine the top 12 winners. 

 

All finalists, together with their families and teachers, are invited to an awards ceremony and reception that will be held on Saturday, April 8 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.  Finalists will receive a certificate, a ribbon and an admission ticket to the museum.  In addition, the top 12 finalists will be given special recognition and will each receive a $50 U.S. savings bond and an environmental reference book for his or her school library. 

 

 

Following the awards ceremony and reception, these entries will be on exhibit in the atrium of the Illinois EPA's Springfield headquarters from April 10 through May 10, and the top winners will be featured on the IEPA's homepage at www.epa.state.il.us

 

Information about the annual event can be obtained by contacting Kristi Morris-Richards, environmental education coordinator for the Illinois EPA, at 1021 North Grand Avenue E., P.O. Box 19276, Springfield, IL  62794-9276 or (217) 558-7198.  Kristi's email address is: Kristi.Morris-Richards@epa.state.il.us

 

 

 

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