2026 SPECIES ON THE EDGE ART & ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

For more than two decades, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has inspired fifth graders across the state to celebrate wildlife through the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest. Each year, students combine creativity, research, and conservation awareness to highlight New Jersey’s threatened and endangered species through original artwork and essays.

This year, students representing counties throughout New Jersey submitted impressive entries that reflected both artistic talent and a deep understanding of wildlife conservation. Participants selected a wide range of species to feature in their projects, showcasing the incredible diversity of wildlife found throughout the Garden State.

To enter the contest, students created an original piece of artwork and wrote an essay about a threatened, endangered, or special concern species, describing its habitat, challenges, and the importance of protecting it for future generations. Entries featured many remarkable species, from marine wildlife and migratory birds to reptiles, amphibians, and mammals native to New Jersey.

A panel of judges, including CWF biologists and conservation professionals, carefully reviewed each submission. Judges evaluated the creativity and quality of the artwork and essays, along with the accuracy of the species representation and conservation information. After thoughtful consideration, one winner and one runner-up were selected from each participating county.

We are grateful to our contest sponsors Atlantic City Electric, Church & Dwight, and Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest and celebrate the outstanding efforts of all participating students, parents, teachers, and schools who helped make this year’s contest a success.

Atlantic County

First Place: Karsyn Priestley (Belhaven Middle School)

Second Place: Avalon Rendfrey (Belhaven Middle School)

Bergen County

First Place: Grace Lian (Manito Elementary School)

Second Place: Celine Cho (East Brook Middle School)

Camden County

First Place: Thomas Mohen (Homeschool)

Second Place: Hirva Patel (Mary E. Volz Middle School)

Cape May County

First Place: Chloe Cooper (Crest Memorial School)

Second Place: Avery Shapiro (Crest Memorial School)

Essex County

First Place: Samuel Aronoff (Yantacaw Elementary School)

Second Place: Arnav Mahajan (Yantacaw Elementary School)

Gloucester County

First Place: Leila Pacheco (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Second Place: Mira Gale (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Hudson County

First Place: Noreen Abdelmonem (Miftaahul Uloom Academy)

Second Place: Bhavya Golellu (Golden Door Charter School)

Hunterdon County

First Place: Emerson Pringle (Thomas B. Conley Elementary School)

Second Place: Reilly W. Evangelista (East Amwell Township School)

Mercer County

First Place: Alexander Ren (Stony Brook Elementary School)

Second Place: Riaan Puhan (Stony Brook Elementary School)

Middlesex County

First Place: Anthony Yurkovic (Hammarskjold Upper Elementary School)

Second Place: Isabella Osorio (Greater Brunswick Charter School)

Monmouth County

First Place: Emma Smith (Manasquan Elementary School)

Second Place: Shane Shelly (Manasquan Elementary School)

Morris County

First Place: Juha Lee (Valley View Elementary School)

Ocean County

First Place: Grady Pearsall (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)

Second Place: Delaney Fitzgerald (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)

Salem County

First Place: Lila Jusko (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter)

Second Place: Anderson Ale (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter)

Somerset County

First Place: Beverly Medina (School of Saint Elizabeth)

Second Place: Charlotte Yang (Mount Horeb Elementary School)

Sussex County

First Place: Violet Csencsits (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Second Place: Imanol Cornejo (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Union County

First Place: Noelle Mendoza (St. Theresa School)

Second Place: Nyah Harris (St. Theresa School)

Warren County

First Place: Hazel Ochs (Ridge and Valley Charter School)

Second Place: Bayla Philips Moraa (Memorial Elementary School)