Blue Lagoon Island is excited to announce the extension of the Marine Education Poster Competition 2020 and the NEW opening for digital submissions until June 1st, 2020!
Just as students are staying home to protect their fellow Bahamians, they also can take action to protect their beautiful country from invasive species by participating in this year’s art contest.
Many Bahamian students were busy working on their posters when schools and businesses were closed due to the country’s COVID-19 response.
“We did get some wonderful entries prior to the closure, but given what has happened in the country, we decided to extend the original deadline and adjust the rules a bit to give all of our students a chance to get creative from home,” said Annette Dempsey, Director of Education & Staff Development on Blue Lagoon Island.
The topic – Pirates of the Caribbean: Invasive Species in The Bahamas – encourages students to learn about the tremendous impact of invasive species like lionfish, cane toads and casuarina trees on our seas and islands from these human-introduced pests and use art to offer their solutions for dealing with the problems.
This national art competition is just one of many steps taken in our community to defend the Bahamas from plants or animals that decimate local ecosystems and inspire young heroes to take action to protect the natural environment on which we all depend.
Open to students from Kindergarten to Grade 12, the top winners in each age group may win passes to one of many exciting marine adventures on Blue Lagoon – which may even include an up-close meeting with one of our incredible marine animals. Artwork from students with special needs will compete in a category of their own.
Students are asked to get creative using materials and supplies they have at home – markers, crayons, pencils, paint or pens. The art must be freehand and include the student’s theme on the front of the poster. Computer graphics, stencils, paste-ons or cut-outs are not allowed.
To ensure that any student across the Bahamas can participate, the art must be done on a single letter-size piece of paper (8.5 x 11 inches). Each artist may submit one poster along with a completed application. Participation is FREE for all resident children of The Bahamas.
Once the art is completed, students, with the help of their parents or guardians if necessary, should scan OR take a high-resolution photo of the art and email it to education@dolphinencounters.com OR WhatsApp the image to 242-427-9031.
If taking a photo, be sure to center the camera directly over the poster and ensure that there is good lighting or use your camera’s flash for the best exposure.
Any paper poster that was submitted for the contest prior to March 20th will be scanned to compete digitally with all other artwork. For safety and required physical distancing, no additional paper posters will be accepted at this time.
To participate, download the info sheet on Invasive Species and the application which includes the contest guidelines. The new competition deadline is Monday, June 1st, 2020.
We may all be home at this time, but we can all be together to celebrate the Bahamas through art!
