Delaware Conservation Districts sponsor annual conservation poster contest, themed ‘Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home’

DOVER – The Kent, New Castle, and Sussex Conservation Districts are now accepting entries for the districts’ annual conservation poster contest from K-12 students in public, charter, private, and home schools. Posters will be judged on the 2018 theme, “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home,” in the following grade categories: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. First, second and third place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $50, $25 and $15, respectively. State-level winning posters also will receive a cash award from the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD).

In addition to regular posters, a special category for computer-generated posters is open to all high school students in grades 9-12 who are enrolled in a graphics art/computer class or program of study. These entries will be judged at the county level only and will not be eligible for national judging.

Each Conservation District will submit first-place posters in each grade category for judging at the state level by DNREC professional staff. First-place posters in each grade level will be entered into the national conservation district poster contest, with winners to be displayed during the national conference Feb. 2-6, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas.

The student’s name, grade level, teacher and school must be clearly and legibly printed on the back of the poster. Posters must be hand-delivered or mailed flat in time to the meet the deadline to the Conservation District office in the county in which the student resides. Addresses are as follows:
• New Castle Conservation District, 2430 Old County Road, Newark, DE 19702
• Kent Conservation District, 800 Bay Road, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901
• Sussex Conservation District, 21315 Berlin Road, Unit 4, Georgetown, DE 19947
The deadline for poster entries is Friday, Oct. 19.

The annual conservation poster contest provides students an opportunity to convey their ideas about soil, water, and related natural resource issues through art. It also highlights the educational outreach efforts of conservation districts and their state associations, auxiliaries and agencies.

“Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home,” this year’s annual stewardship theme developed by the National Association of Conservation Districts, is a reminder that everyone lives in a watershed, an area of land that drains to a common point. The way we treat the land in our watershed and our daily habits can have a big impact on the water we drink. Did you know that only 1 percent of the water on planet earth is fresh, usable water? For more information and educational resources about the theme and poster contest guidelines, please visit http://www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/stewardship-and-education-materials/contests/. For a flyer with Delaware’s poster contest guidelines, please visit www.newcastleconservationdistrict.org, www.kentcd.org or www.sussexconservation.org. For more information, please contact Rick Mickowski at 302-365-8979, or by email at Rick.Mickowski@delaware.gov.

Vol. 48, No. 247

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

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