Creative Engagement – Announcing Collaborating for Biodiversity

It’s never been more important for people and communities to collaborate to ensure that our shared future is biodiverse. That’s why ESC has developed a new creative opportunity for youth grades K-12: Collaborating for Biodiversity. Building on the success of our 2023 Collaborating for Wildlife and Plants call to youth artists in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, we are expanding with a new collaborative call to youth artists during the current academic year.

Later this year and in early 2025, we will be sending out updates about how educators and students can join the Collaborating for Biodiversity project, including opportunities for youth artists grades K-12 to collaboratively create works of art in a range of media. The platform for artwork submissions will open in January and close in April 2025. Collaborating for Biodiversity will center species listed, proposed for listing, or recovered from the Endangered Species Act. We will emphasize the creation of artworks increasing awareness of the importance of biodiversity.

What is Biodiversity? The word biodiversity combines:

Bio: ‘way of life’ or ‘life giving’

with

Diversity: Variation in plant and animal life, especially as represented by the number of species *

          *definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary

Biodiversity provides a broad array of benefits from supporting human physical and mental health and protecting food security, to mitigating climate change and ensuring that a range of habitats for recreation and appreciation of the natural world are protected and respected. You are invited to share the word about this upcoming youth art opportunity. We’re excited for educators students to participate in Collaborating for Biodiversity during the 2024-2025 school year!

ESC is also currently running a related biodiversity-themed Bonfire campaign: The Future is Biodiverse. To learn more about the threatened and endangered wildlife and plants shown in this design, and to support the project, please visit The Future is Biodiverse campaign at https://www.bonfire.com/the-future-is-biodiverse/