Winners of 2019 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest Announced

Contact: David Robinson, [email protected], (951) 282-3665
Leda Huta, [email protected], (202) 320-6467

Winners of 2019 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest Announced

Oregon 1st-grader Wins Grand Prize, To Be Honored at Ceremony in D.C.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Endangered Species Coalition proudly announced the winners of the 2019 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest, including the grand prize winner, Sam Hess, a Portland, Oregon first-grader.

The contest was an integral part of the 14th annual national Endangered Species Day, which occurs on Friday, May 17. The art contest engages school children in grades K-12 in expressing their appreciation for our nation’s most imperiled wildlife, and promotes national awareness of the importance of saving endangered species. The winning art entries can be viewed online.
 
“We owe it to this generation of children to pass down healthy ecosystems brimming with wildlife,” said Leda Huta, Executive Director of the Endangered Species Coalition. “Every year, their artwork demonstrates how deeply they feel for nature and all of its wondrous creatures – large and small.”

Contest winners were selected by a panel of prestigious artists, photographers and conservationists. They include Andrew Zuckerman, a noted wildlife photographer, filmmaker, and creative director; marine life artist Wyland; Jack Hanna, host of Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild; David Littschwager, a freelance photographer and regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine; Susan Middletown, a photographer who has collaborated with Littschwager and whose own work has been published in four books; and Alice Tangerini, botanical illustrator for the Smithsonian Institution.

“Through the visual arts, I try to celebrate our vanishing species, and I am glad to be joined by these inspiring young artists,” said photographer Andrew Zuckerman. “I hope these artists and their images will encourage action to protect rare and endangered species for future generations.”

The 2019 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest winners are: 

Grand Prize: Sam Hess  (1st grade), Portland, OR
Second Place: Grace Ou (8th grade), Lexington, MA

First Place Winners in Grade Categories:

Grades K-2: Bruce Chan (kindergarten), Whippany, NJ
Grades 3-5: Sky Hana (5th grade) Des Plaines, IL
Grades 6-8: Evan Zhang (8th grade) Sudbury, MA
Grades 9-12: Krista Bueno (12th grade), Chantilly, VA

The grand prize winner will be honored at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Congressional Reception in Washington, D.C. on May 8 and will receive a special art lesson from a professional wildlife artist and $50-worth of art supplies of their choice.

Endangered Species Day was first proclaimed by the United States Congress in 2006. It is a celebration of the nation’s wildlife and wild places and is an opportunity for people to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species, as well as everyday actions they can take to help protect them.

Across the country, organizations hold special events to celebrate Endangered Species Day each year on or around the third Friday in May. For more information about the annual art contest, winners and Endangered Species Day, visit www.endangeredspeciesday.org.