MONTGOMERY-For over thirty years the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s William R. Ireland Sr. Youth Wildlife Art Contest has recognized the
Artwork by Hannah Moore
outstanding artistic abilities of Alabama students, while increasing students’ knowledge and awareness of wildlife and wildlife habitat in Alabama. The Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to promote the AWF William R. Ireland, Sr. Youth Wildlife Art Contest and the USFWS Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest throughout Alabama. The top winners in each division of both contests will be awarded plaques and art supplies at a luncheon on Saturday, April 12, 2014, at Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Headquarters in Millbrook.
The AWF William R. Ireland, Sr. Youth Wildlife Art Contest requires students to research wildlife indigenous to Alabama while learning more about the species including its conservation status and its habitat requirements in order to accurately depict the species in its habitat in Alabama. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to integrate language arts, science, and geography into a fun and educational art project. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade from public schools, private schools, home school associations, and art studios are encouraged to participate. All participants in the AWF Youth Wildlife Art Contest will receive Certificates of Participation for their entries. The new deadline for the AWF Youth Wildlife Art Contest is February 28, 2014.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest design is a term paper in which students use visual rather than verbal articulation to show what they have 
learned. Participants select a species of North American waterfowl, research this species and its habitat, and then depict the waterfowl in an artistic medium. The deadline for the Junior Duck Stamp Contest is March 15, 2014.
Submissions for the AWF William R. Ireland, Sr. Youth Wildlife Art Contest will be collected at the Alabama Wildlife Federation office in Millbrook, while contest submissions for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest will be collected at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur. For additional details and an entry form to enter the William R. Ireland, Sr. Youth Wildlife Art Contest, please visit the conservation education section of the AWF’s website at www.alabamawildlife.org or contact the AWF at 1-800-822-9453 for a contest brochure. If you have questions regarding the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest, please visit www.fws.gov/duckstamps/ on-line or contact Kevin Hamrick at Wheeler Refuge at (256) 350-6639.
The Alabama Wildlife Federation, established by sportsmen in 1935, is the state’s oldest and largest citizens’ conservation organization. The mission of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, a 501©3 non-profit group supported by membership dues and donations, is to promote conservation and wise use of Alabama’s wildlife and related natural resources as a basis for economic and social prosperity. To learn more about Alabama Wildlife Federation, including membership details, programs and projects, call 1-800-822-WILD or visit www.alabamawildlife.org.
MEDIA RELEASE/Alabama Wildlife Federation/Marla Ruskin
