Youth Art Contest to Support Endangered Species Day

Endangered Species Day - Youth Art Contest

Annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest

Parents, teachers and scout leaders tell your kids to start the drawing engines and participate in the annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest, an integral part of the eighth annual national Endangered Species Day, celebrated on May 17, 2013.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous conservation organizations will observe Endangered Species Day to recognize conservation efforts underway across the nation aimed at helping America’s imperiled species. This year also commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is a celebration of the nation’s rarest plant and animal species. The Youth Art Contest provides students from kindergarten to high school with an opportunity to learn about threatened and endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. Young artists who are home schooled and participate in youth groups are also eligible to submit their art. Previous winners have come from California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Louisiana and as far away as Alaska. Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2013.

Kids Need Daily Recess Time

Recess Time

NWF Advocates for Policy Changes to Bring Back Daily Recess

Most adults remember daily recess as a time they were able to let off steam, exercise their bodies and refresh their minds. Today however, as many as nine million children (approximately thirty percent of elementary schools) get far less recess time according to a 2011 study by researchers at the University of Illinois.  Worse still is the fact that schools with predominately non-white student populations are least likely to have sufficient recess periods.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is tackling this problem head on by launching their “Ranger Rick Restores Recess Campaign”. Ranger Rick of course is the beloved mascot of NWF’s award-winning children’s magazines Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr.