Junior duck stamp winners announced!

Almost 1,800 K-12th grade students entered in this year’s California Junior Duck Stamp Competition. The judging took place on Wednesday, March 31st at the Willow’s Veterans Memorial Hall, and calls were made to the 100 state art winners and 12 state conservation message winners. 

Any K-12 student may participate in the program, but must keep in mind judges will focus on the artistic expression and accuracy of a North American waterfowl species, as well as habitat and seasonal accuracy.  For conservation messages, judges focus on originality, understanding of conservation, and thought put into the statement.

“It’s not just about drawing a duck.  It is a cross curricular conservation education program,” said Marilyn Gamette, the California competition organizer who has retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  “Students in California need to learn that they are fortunate because not all states are lucky enough to live under a unique highway in the sky,” she mentioned while talking about the Pacific Flyway.

The program requires students to conduct research in order to make their drawing and conservation message accurate.  However, the Junior Duck Stamp program enables students to put that research into an expressive drawing and statement to encourage others to take action in conserving California’s natural resources.

The Junior Duck Stamp Program is the only federally mandated art competition, and has been coordinated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help raise awareness about conservation since 1989.  California Waterfowl has been a partner and co-sponsor of the program for over a decade, and oversees program aspects including content, design, printing, and distribution of Junior Duck Stamp materials to 1,000 schools, extra curricular activity groups, wildlife areas, and refuges every year.

“California Waterfowl is involved with the Junior Duck Stamp Program because it provides a unique opportunity for youth and their parents to connect with nature and learn about conservation,” explained Bob McLandress, California Waterfowl Endowed Chair of Conservation Heritage.  “That connection is important to ensure a healthy future for wetlands and waterfowl.”

All student drawings submitted were separated into four categories before judging based on age groups.  Out of each group 25 lucky students were selected as art winners, consisting of first through third place and honorable mentions.  Out of twelve first place winners, David Zhou of Union City was selected for Best of Show.  Additionally, three lucky students from each age group were selected as Conservation Message winners, with a first, second, and third place awarded in each group.

All students who entered, whether they placed or not, will receive a participation certificate and can feel a great sense of accomplishment for educating others about California’s wetland and waterfowl resources, as well as raising $1 for California’s conservation education simply by submitting their entry.  The 100 winner prizes range from scholarships, to wildlife friendly gear such as binoculars or field backpacks, and the schools of the winning students will also receive free art supplies.  

David’s Best of Show art work will compete against the top winners from the other 49 states as well as the District of Columbia and other U.S. Territories.  All of the top 100 winning entries will be publicly displayed while traveling throughout California for the year. 

To learn more about the Junior Duck StampProgram or see the 100 winners (coming soon), click here >>.

The Federal Adult Junior Duck Stamp Competition iscoming to California for the first time ever!  For more information about how you can attend this event or watch it via webcast,
click here >>. 

For more information about the adult Duck Stamp Program, click here >>.

For more information about the Duck Stamp Competition, click here >>.

To visit the Duck Stamp Competition on Facebook, click here >>.