Southern Ill. students win awards in Ill. Junior Duck Stamp Contest | Community Spirit

(KFVS) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced the winners of the 2012 Illinois Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

The wildlife service said they received more than 300 entries for this year's contest. The Best in Show artwork was created by Justas Varpucanskis, 14, from Mokena, Ill. His artwork was an acrylic painting of a female pintail. It will adavance to the 2012 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest on April 20 at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland.

The winner of the best of show award for the conservation message: "No skyscraper or monument can compare to nature" was Aidan Shervheim of Naperville, Ill. His work will also advance to the national competition.

“Illinois students are fortunate to live along the Mississippi Flyway where ducks are abundant. There were so many beautiful works submitted to the contest. All of the winners have reason to be proud of their accomplishment” said Illinois program coordinator Kim King-Wrenn.

The following southern Illinois students also won awards in the contest:

• Sariah Tolley – First Place Conservation Message, Carbondale
• Sophie Ashbrook - Honorable Mention, Pinckneyville
• Sydney Cacioppo – Honorable Mention, Pinckneyville
• Ryan Cox - Honorable Mention, Herrin
• Dalton Pryatt - Honorable Mention, Pinckneyville

Teresa Davis was selected as the 2012 Illinois Junior Duck Stamp Teacher of the Year. Teresa teaches art to students in the Astoria schools. She works with students in grades K-12 and has participated in the contest for many years. This year nine of her students won awards for their work. Teresa says that her students enjoy the contest because wetland habitat and waterfowl are abundant near their community so the subject matter is something they know well.

An awards ceremony will be held to honor all of the winners on April 14 at the University Museum on the SIU campus in Carbondale. The ceremony will be at 4 p.m. and will feature a presentation about waterfowl by Giant City State Park ranger, Dan Woolard. A reception will follow the ceremony. The student art work will be on display at the museum through April 3-21.

Artwork entries were judged on the basis of original design, anatomical accuracy, artistic composition and suitability for reproduction on a 1” by 1.5” stamp.

The first place art from the national contest is used to create a National Junior Duck Stamp each year. The Junior Duck Stamp is available for $5 from the U.S. Postal Service and from many National Wildlife Refuges. Proceeds from the sale of the stamps support conservation education and provide awards and scholarships for participating students, teachers and schools.

For more information, you can click here to visit the National Wildlife Refuge online.

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