Oneida County sponsors annual environmental poster and speaker contests
The Oneida County Conservation/UW-EX Education Committee is sponsoring the 2012 Land and Water Conservation Speaking Contest and the Conservation and Environmental Awareness Poster Contest. The Speaking Contest will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m., in the second floor County Board Room at the Oneida County Courthouse in Rhinelander. Posters will be judged the week of Oct. 15, and winners will be displayed the night of the Speaking Contest. The deadline for submitting speaking and poster entries is Friday, Oct.12.
Information on these contests has been sent to all the schools in the county. Contact your school’s Science or English teachers for information on the Speaking Contest and your school’s Art instructors for information on the Poster Contest. Land and Water Conservation staff will also provide contest rules to any student requesting them. This contest is open to all Oneida County students who are attending public, private and home schools.
The Speaking Contest has three divisions: the Elementary Division includes students in grades five and six; the Junior Division includes students in grades seven and eight and the Senior Division is open to all students in grades nine through twelve. Elementary Division speeches are three to five minutes long, while the speeches in the Junior and Senior Divisions are five to eight minutes long. First, Second and Third-Place winners in the Elementary Division will receive trophies, as well as the First and Second Place winners for both the Junior and Senior Divisions. As an added bonus, the First Place winner in each division of the speaking contest will also receive a $50 U.S. Savings Bond. County winners will advance to compete at the area level and area winners will advance to State competition.
All participants reported by local teachers as having participated in a school speech or poster contest and/or the county contest will receive certificates of recognition.
The Poster Contest has seven divisions: Primary Division includes students enrolled in Kindergarten and Grade 1; Elementary Division includes students enrolled in Grades 2 and 3. The Middle Division includes students in Grades 4 through 6. Grades 7 through 9 are in the Junior Division and Grades 10 through 12 are in the Senior Division. A Special Need Division includes students in Kindergarten through sixth in addition to a separate Special Needs Division for students in Grades seven through 12.
Subject matter for both the Speaking and Poster Contests will be in an area of environmental awareness or conservation of natural resources such as soil conservation, water quality, air, wildlife and forestry with an emphasis being placed on the conservation aspects of the selected subject. Authenticity and accuracy of information is considered very important.
The designated theme for the 2012 National poster contest is “Soil to Spoon”. In effect, this means that something that has its origins in the soil may eventually end up on one’s table. This theme must appear on all posters wishing to be considered for any National award. Designing a poster and researching a theme can give you a voice in your community or on an important conservation issue. Good posters tell important stories to current and future generations. Posters capture the public’s attention with a powerful graphic and inspire with a message to your community. To learn more about NACD Stewardship, visit nacdnet.org.
For more information about the 2012 Speaking and Poster Contests, call the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation/UWEX office at (715) 365-2750.
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