2026 Species On The Edge Art + Essay Contest Winners + Runners Up

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Congratulations to the hundreds of hardworking and creative 5th grade students, along with their teachers and parents, who advocated for an endangered, threatened, or special concern species from New Jersey through an art piece and essay. You have inspired everyone at Conserve Wildlife Foundation with your enthusiasm for protecting our cherished wildlife.

Atlantic County

First Place: Karsyn Priestley (Belhaven Middle School)

Second Place: Avalon Rendfrey (Belhaven Middle School)

Bergen County

*Northern Flying Squirrel by Grace Lian*

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

*Blackbanded Sunfish by Noreen Abdelmonem*

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

*Red-headed woodpecker by Grady Pearsall*

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

*Eastern tiger salamander by Hazel Ochs*

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

Second Place: Bayla Philips Moraa (Memorial Elementary School)

Species on the Edge

Art + Essay Contest

The Species on the Edge Art + Essay Contest empowers fifth grade students to advocate for an at-risk wildlife species through a well-researched, creative essay and original art piece. Students must choose a species that is listed as endangered, threatened or special concern in the State of New Jersey. A complete list of acceptable species can be found in the contest kit or by clicking below.

The contest is free and open to all New Jersey fifth graders. All entries must follow guidelines listed in the contest kit.

New for 2026! Species of special concern are now included in the contest!

One winner is selected from each New Jersey county. Each winner will see their art featured in a beautiful calendar; have their art exhibited at venues across New Jersey; celebrate with an awards ceremony; and enjoy a trip to Sedge Island, where a unique natural resource education center is located in the middle of Barnegat Bay and home to New Jersey’s only marine conservation zone.

To our Environmental Educators

The Species on the Edge Art + Essay Contest is a great addition to a fifth-grade curriculum! Should you mail in your students’ work, please be sure to include a completed entry form for each student. Entry forms must be signed by a parent or guardian. Thank you for educating our future generations about rare wildlife and their importance in our ecosystems!

2025 Winners + Runners Up

Atlantic County

*Golden-winged warbler by Sanka Sakhalkar.*

First Place – Sarika Sakhalkar (Belhaven Middle School)

Second Place – Milana Vorobeva (Belhaven Middle School)

Bergen County

First Place – Lieul Lee (Northvale School)

Second Place – John Chanwoo Lee (Upper School Elementary School)

Burlington County

First Place – Axford Higginbotham (Kenneth R. Olson Middle School)

Second Place – Russell Czekanski (Kenneth R. Olson Middle School)

Camden County

First Place – Maria Rodas Garcia (Mary E. Volz School)

Second Place – Chloe Lender (Mary E. Volz School)

Cape May County

First Place – Emma Zweigenbaum (Dennis Township Elementary School)

Second Place – Emery Macomber (Dennis Township Elementary School)

Essex County

First Place – Tashvi Gandhi (Yantacaw Elementary school)

Second Place – Riya Parikh (Washington Elementary School)

Gloucester County

*Checkered white butterfly by Calliope Glassman.*

First Place – Calliope Glassman (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Second Place – Michael Montanero (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Hudson County

*Eastern mud salamander by Nabiha Mgaresh-Parke.*

First Place – Nabiha Mgaresh-Parke (Mifftaahul Uloom Academy)

Second Place – Ruby Kalish (All Saints Episcopal Day School)

Hunterdon County

*Black-crowned night heron by Ali Rowe.*

First Place – Ali Rowe (East Amwell Township School)

Second Place – August Schaefer (High Bridge Middle School)

Mercer County

First Place – Geordie Feller (Toll Gate Grammar School)

Second Place – Josie Radler (Omni World Academy)

Middlesex County

First Place – Hope Nolasco (Greater Brunswick Charter School)

Second Place – Leo Xu (Little Fish Art Studio)

Monmouth County

First Place – Aurelia Aponte (Nut Swamp Elementary School)

Second Place – Noah Mangone (Nut Swamp Elementary School)

Morris County

First Place – Michaela Mendoza (Chester M. Stephens Elementary)

Second Place – Abeer Tokkar (Chester M. Stephens Elementary)

Ocean County

First Place – Logan McGuire (Nellie F Bennett Elementary)

Second Place – Dominic Zinser (Nellie F Bennett Elementary)

Passaic County

*Atlantic hawksbill turtle by Vincent Botsolas.*

First Place – Vincent Botsolas (EG Hewitt Elementary School)

Second Place – Victoria Trayanov (Clifton Public School 9)

Salem County

American burying beetle by Erika Schaller.

First Place – Erika Schaller (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School)

Second Place – Maggie Harz (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School)

Somerset County

First Place – Amelia Aron (Mount Horeb Elementary School)

Second Place – Klari Jalies (School of Saint Elizabeth)

Sussex County

First Place – Amelia Eaton (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Second Place – Josephine Farrell (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Union County

*Blue-spotted salamander by Natalia Huaman.*

First Place – Natalia Huaman (St. Theresa’s School)

Second Place – Adrian Molina Aplicano (Malcolm E. Nettingham Middle School)

Warren County

*Blue-spotted salamander by Autumn Calvano.*

First Place – Autumn Calvano (Ridge and Valley Charter School)

Second Place – Anders Hall (Ridge and Valley Charter School)

Species on the Edge

To our Environmental Educators

2025 Winners + Runners Up

Thank you to our sponsors