DNR Sponsoring Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest for Students

Teachers and students across the state are invited to celebrate wildlife through art by participating in the 32nd annual Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest.

Sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and The Environmental Resources Network, the goal of this competition for grades K-5 is to generate knowledge of and appreciation for Georgia’s biological diversity.

This year’s theme is Nature’s Fascinating Engineers.

Students are asked to create a poster that highlights the amazing engineering feats performed by native animals and plants.

Examples include beavers building dams, birds making nests, dandelions that produce parachute-like seeds and gopher tortoises that dig burrows.

As inspiration for their artwork, students can look for plants, birds and other wildlife in their backyard or schoolyard.

Even if neighborhood greenspace is scarce, there’s always a world of insects and plants that can be found and observed.

City, county and state parks are great places to discover nature, too – and most people have at least one park in their community.

Participants can submit their artwork at the local school level.

Top school-level entries will then proceed to the state contest at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.

First-, second- and third-place winners will be chosen for four divisions: kindergarten, first and second grade, third and fourth grade, and fifth grade.

The deadline for schools to submit digital photos of state-level entries is April 8, 2022.

The top 12 state-level winners’ artwork will be showcased on the DNR Wildlife Resources Division and State Botanical Garden social media sites.

Also, as a special perk, each state-level winner’s teacher and one parent will be eligible to receive a free DNR wildlife license plate.

For contest rules, awards, entry forms and other information, visit georgiawildlife.com/PosterContest.