Johnny Sword took first place in the grade 9-12 category.

This year, in the face of school closures and the cancellation of the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival, the Wildlife Art Contest for youth went virtual.

The Wildlife Art Contest encouraged students in kindergarten through high school to observe, understand, and ultimately share what they have learned about migratory birds. By creating a unique art entry for the contest, the students were provided an opportunity to artistically express their knowledge of the diversity, interdependence, and beauty of wildlife.

There were a total of 35 entries for the contest. Images submitted were portrayals of a native North American bird species most likely to be seen in Harney County.

The contest was judged in four categories according to grade level: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. First, second, and third-place entries were selected from each grade level by a voting process with eight judges. The competition awarded work using the Elements of Art: The visual components of color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value.

There were a total of 14 winners. Two third-place awards were given in grades 3-5 and grades 9-12. Scholarships were awarded to the winning artists, including a $100 gift certificate for first-place winners.

“I only heard wonderful remarks from the judges who helped with the challenge of selecting the winning art,” Carey Goss of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge said. “We are hoping to use some artwork for promotional purposes, but everyone can see all the artwork that was submitted on the virtual gallery hosted by the Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge website.”

The Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is honored to showcase all the inspiring art to the world through a virtual gallery at malheurfriends.org.

Congratulations to all the winners of the Wildlife Art Contest, which include:

Grade K-2
1st place – Paislee Macomber
2nd place – Brylee Miller
3rd place – Wyatt Dean

Grade 3-5
1st place – Colter Handley

2nd place – Allison Bohnert
3rd place – Morgan Peyrollaz
3rd place – Harlee Englestadter

Grade 6-8
1st place – Ashlee Hill
2nd place – Kyla Sawyer
3rd place – Emmalee Estrada

Grade 9-12
1st place – Johnny Sword
2nd place – Nakita Norris
3rd place – Adam Thompson
3rd place – Shaylee Root