Enter the Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest

One of the most popular elements of our annual Endangered Species Day celebration is the Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest. Every year, students from around the country submit their artwork highlighting endangered and threatened species for consideration, and every year the judges have an enormous challenge in picking a winner from so many inspiring and thoughtful submissions (you can see last year’s semi-finalist and award-winning entries here.)

Last year’s winner was Miles Yun, his entry is pictured to the left. He sent along his thoughts about the contest and why it is important to him below. Thank you, Miles!

By Miles Yun, Grand Prize Winning Artist 2016 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest

The Endangered Species Coalition Youth Art Contest was the first art competition, out of many, that I competed in, in which I saw a clear connection to helping society improve its faults. The fact that our nation’s Endangered Species Coalition ran the contest gave a sense of importance to my work.

Not only did this contest allow me to actively participate in the effort to bring awareness and change to a critical problem in our society, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn more specifics of individual endangered species. As I researched and drew these animals, I developed a connection to our suffering neighbors, further fueling desire to lend a hand. Learning more about the unique species we could all help really gave me a different perspective on our individual and societal choices and the consequences affecting our fellow Earth inhabitants. Especially in an ever-growing society where other issues and topics dominate media, this new outlook is valuable as it reminds us that we have yet to fix one of our largest mistakes.

The Endangered Species Coalition Youth Art Contest is a contest that combines students’ artistic skills, creativity, learning experience, and motivation to benefit the world. Share the news of this contest for it is not only a contest, but also an experience that fosters motivation and care in America’s youth that will play a crucial role in all of our future. Anyone K-12, homeschooled, or a member of a youth group can join the coalition’s endeavor to shape a better future. So, what are you waiting for?

You can learn more about this year’s Saving Endangered Species Youth Art  Contest and submit an entry here.