2009 Junior Duck Stamp Contest Held on Earth Day
Student Artwork Raises Money for Wetland Conservation and Education
Mar 18, 2009
The Junior Duck Stamp design judging is held on April 22, Earth Day, at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. It is open to the public and free of charge. The winner’s painting is then used on the next Federal Junior Duck Stamp.
The Federal Duck Stamp Program
Federal Duck Stamps have never been used as postage stamps. They were created in 1934 as national licenses for hunting migratory waterfowl. Today they are sold to collectors and function as passes for access to National Wildlife Refuges. Most of the funds raised from the sale of duck stamps go into wetlands conservation.
The Junior Federal Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program
Begun as part of an educational curriculum to acquaint students in grades K-12 with wetland conservation and management issues, the art contest has become an important part of the Junior federal Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program. Students first learn about the plants and animals of the wetlands and their value to the environment. Art is used as part of that process.
While wetlands conservation in the United States originally focused on their value to maintaining healthy populations of migratory waterfowl for hunting, over time the importance of wetland habitat to migratory birds and a wide variety of plants, as well as for flood control, has been better understood.
Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest
After learning about the wetland habitat, students are encouraged to draw or paint ducks and to create their own conservation message. Winners of the art and conservation message competitions at state level go on to compete nationally. The winning design is used on the next year's Federal Junior Duck Stamp.
There is a cash prize for each of the top three designs and the winner goes to the First day of Sale Ceremony for the Federal Duck Stamp and Junior Duck Stamp, which takes place in Washington, DC.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Education and Outreach developed the Conservation and Design Program in partnership with the Council for Environmental Education, Ducks Unlimited Project Webfoot and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Linking Girls to the Land program.
How Junior Duck Stamp Funds are Used
While funds from Federal Duck Stamp sales are used to fund conservation projects, Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest proceeds are largely used to fund development and distribution of environmental education materials and scholarships for the national contest winners.
All students who submit artwork receive a certificate of participation but more importantly they come away with an appreciation for wetlands and wildlife, as well as a better understanding of conservation issues.
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