Click here to see the 2008 Winners and
their essays
Created in 2003, the Species on the Edge ~ Art
& Essay Contest is a great way to engage
and excite New Jersey’s 5th graders into learning
about our state’s over 70 endangered and threatened
wildlife species. It is open to all fifth graders in
public, private, or home schools, and encourages students
to learn about local environmental issues; express their
concerns for the world around them; think creatively about
ways to improve it; and to consider how their actions
impact the natural world.
Educators praise the contest for encompassing
inter-disciplinary teaching using science, language arts,
computer technology, art, and geography.
Check out some teacher testimonials! By
creating these works of art and the essays about New
Jersey’s wildlife, the children work as wildlife
biologists. They may not see the animal but they
researched it – what it looks like, where it
lives, and what are the threats to its future. Because
of this contest, children have a better understanding of
the wildlife and habitats of New Jersey and what we need
to do to keep them in our future.
Since 2003, over 5,000 children from across the state have
entered the Species on the Edge ~ Art &
Essay Contest. These children, along with
their artwork and essays, represent the diversity that is
New Jersey. From the Highlands in the north to the Cape May
peninsula in the south, to the urban corridor of the New
York metropolitan area to the rolling hills and rural
countryside in the west, these kids are shouting out
loud…it is important to preserve and protect
wildlife and their habitat, everywhere in New Jersey.
We hope you enjoy the artwork and heartfelt essays. Most
importantly, we hope that you are as touched as we are by
what these children have done and said and that it will
move you to help Conserve Wildlife!
Click here to add your name to the
Species on the Edge ~ Art and Essay
Contest mailing list!
Click here to see the 2007
Winners
Click here to see the 2006
Winners!
Click here for site map