Turtle Art Contest Celebrates the Year of the Turtle

Press release courtesy of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The long, snowy winter of 2011 is a distant memory and the warming days of spring provide a great opportunity for exploring nature. Wildlife watching is a perfect spring activity as birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians are busy finding food, mates, and nest sites. 

And, what spring wouldn’t be complete without a child bringing home a turtle from a local pond and begging to keep it as a pet. But doing so spells trouble for turtles. 

So, instead the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is encouraging kids to get outdoors, find a turtle, draw a picture of it, and enter the drawing in the Year of the Turtle Art Contest for Kids – but leave the turtle where it was found. Those who are unable to find a turtle can go to www.ct.gov/dep/yearofturtle to see photographs of turtles native to Connecticut, or they can use their imagination to create a unique piece of turtle artwork.

The DEP and the Friends of Sessions Woods, as part of the Year of the Turtle awareness campaign with Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), are sponsoring a turtle art contest for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Children interested in entering the contest are asked to draw, paint, or sketch a turtle species native to Connecticut.

Entries will be judged in three age groups: K-1st grade, 2nd-3rd grade, and 4th-5th grade. First, second, third, and honorable mention prizes will be awarded in each age group. The Connecticut Science Center, in Hartford, has graciously donated a Family Pass package for each first place winner. The Friends of Sessions Woods Paul Petersen Memorial Fund has donated various turtle-related prizes, such as ribbons, turtle pins, and books. First place winners also will have their artwork published in the DEP’s bimonthly magazine, Connecticut Wildlife.

All of the artwork entered in the contest will be on display at the DEP Wildlife Division’s Sessions Woods Conservation Education Center, in Burlington, at a special “Year of the Turtle Day,” scheduled for Sunday, June 26, from 1:00-4:00 PM. Award winners will be announced to the public during Turtle Day. Educational programs on turtles, live turtles, and kid’s crafts are all planned for “Turtle Day.”  More information about this free event is on the DEP’s Year of the Turtle Web page and on the DEP Calendar of Events.

An entry form, art contest guidelines, and the list of native turtles (with photographs) that can be illustrated are also available on the DEP’s Year of the Turtle Web page. This information also can be obtained by contacting the DEP Wildlife Division’s Sessions Woods office at P.O. Box 1550, Burlington, CT 06013; 860-675-8130 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM). All entries must be postmarked by June 8, 2011. 

The native turtles that can be illustrated for this contest include the bog turtle, Eastern box turtle, common musk turtle, common snapping turtle, painted turtle, spotted turtle, wood turtle, Northern diamondback terrapin, Atlantic ridley sea turtle, Atlantic green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle.