The Threatened Species Art Competition is back for its seventh year.
Kids across the Macarthur region learn about local threatened species through the creation of vibrant and colourful artworks that highlight the vulnerability of our region’s plants and animals.
Young artists are invited to draw, paint or create a collage on A4 sized paper of a threatened species found in the Macarthur region and submit it to Campbelltown Council by Friday, August 24.
Winners will be announced on Threatened Species Day, Monday, September 7, with a travelling exhibition of entries on display across the Macarthur region throughout September in recognition of Biodiversity Month.
Individual entries will be judged in age categories of 5 to 6 years; 7 to 9 years and 10 to 12 years, and schools with the highest participation rate of students or the highest overall number of students entered into the competition will win a school prize package.
Mayor of Campbelltown, Cr Paul Lake, said the Threatened Species Art Competition was a great way for young people to learn about the plants and animals that live in the Macarthur region and to express their passion for the natural environment.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“There are great prizes up for grabs, both for individuals and schools, with winning artworks becoming part of a travelling exhibition across the Macarthur region and helping to highlight our local threatened species to a large audience,” Cr Lake said.[/social_quote]
The competition aims to increase awareness and interest in local threatened species and highlight the diverse habitat of the Macarthur region, which includes vulnerable and endangered plants and animals such as the red crowned toadlet, green and golden bell frog, barking owl and spiked rice flower.
Threats to these species include poor water quality and animal grazing, as well as activities such as illegal dumping of rubbish and removal of fallen trees and logs.
Highlighting these issues through the creative minds of young students aims to help improve the way residents of all ages interact with our natural environment.
This year will see the Australian PlantBank at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan, sponsoring the competition, with winning schools receiving a number of local threatened plant species to plant in their school.
This initiative is aimed at providing schools with a hands on conservation experience long after the competition has finished, and will also help school playgrounds become a haven for local flora and fauna.
Entries can be hand delivered to the Environment Unit at Campbelltown City Council, or posted to PO Box 57, Campbelltown 2560.
Camden and Wollondilly residents can send their artwork into their respective councils.
For more information, including a full list of animals and plants that are classified as threatened species in the Macarthur region, visit here or phone 4645 4000.
