Young people of all ages are encouraged to learn more about endangered species and to participate in the annual national Endangered Species Day (third Friday in May. Here are some ideas:
Art Contest
*Enter the 2017 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest. The annual contest is open to all students K-12. You may enter through your school, youth group, or just on your own. March 1, 2017 is the deadline for submissions. You and your parent/teacher can find more information here.
*You can practice your artistic ability in other ways as well. For example, our Endangered Species Day Website Toolkit includes an endangered species Activity Book with coloring pages and other fun things to do. (The Toolkit also features sample masks, bookmarks and stickers.)
School Research Projects
If you’re working on a school class/other research project regarding endangered species or biodiversity, here are some suggestions:
*Read about wolves, whales, polar bears and other species and how we can protect them. This Endangered Species Day website includes a special reading list of suggested books, along with other helpful information. Also see the Endangered Species Coalition website: www.endangered.org
*There is extensive background material and other resources on the Fish and Wildlife Service website: www.fws.govand NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service website: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov
*You can find information on success stories of species recovery (including a state-by state listing) at:https://www.esasuccess.org/and https://www.fws.gov/endangered/map
*Learn more about the threatened and endangered species in your state and county. In addition to this spreadsheet (xls), your state Natural Resources or Fish & Game office will have a current listing of local species.
*Visit the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) website: https://www.iucn.org to see the worldwide Red List of Threatened Species and other information.
Celebrate Endangered Species Day
Join family members, classmates and others at a special Endangered Species Day event in your community on May 19th, 2017 (and throughout the month of May). Beginning in April, you’ll find nearby activities on the Event Directory on this website. Just enter your zip code to locate those activities that are closest to you.
If there isn’t an organized Endangered Species Day event close to home, here are some additional ways to celebrate:
+Visit your community’s zoo, aquarium, natural history museum and/or botanic garden to see the exhibits of threatened and endangered plants and animals. Keep a notebook of what you observe.
+Help a group of young people/others plan a habitat clean-up. This could involve a clean-up project on a beach, mountain trail or other special area. You can check with local environmental groups to see if they already have something organized.
+Talk to your teacher about the potential of arranging an Endangered Species Day display in your classroom, the school library or the cafeteria. This could include photos of threatened/endangered species, books and a map that highlights the range of endangered species in your area.
+Send your local newspaper a letter-to-the editor that emphasizes the importance of endangered species/habitat protection. There is a sample letter in our Toolkit. You may want to ask your parents or another adult for assistance.
+Send friends and others an e-card that encourages them to celebrate Endangered Species Day as well. We have examples on our website.
Be sure to let us know how you will recognize Endangered Species Day this year. Send a note to [email protected] .
