Wildlife Creations Contest!

Our Cool To Care Camp Wildlife Creations Contest brought forth much ingenuity and teamwork from the campers!

Teams first participated in a scavenger hunt for recyclable/reusable materials hidden throughout the NHES building. After a discussion of the importance of recycling to help reduce pollution and protect wildlife and their natural homes, the campers were tasked to create a wild animal from their collected materials. They could create an animal representative of real wildlife or invent a new species. Campers had to identify their creature as well as the animal's habitat and diet.

Of course, every team did a fantastic job and we congratulate them all!

3 - 4 Grade Morning Session Winners

First Place: Team Moe with a very affable giraffe from the wild lands of Africa!

Runners Up: (Left) Team Larry with box turtles thriving in a swamp and (right)Team Curly with wild horses living on sanctuary lands! 

3 - 4 Grade Afternoon Session Winners

First Place: Team Pigs with the invented habitat of "rainbow swamp" and several swamp animal creations. This colorful marsh included both herbivore and carnivore wildlife creatures, and equally interesting descriptions of the plant life!

Runners Up: (Left) Team Llamas with "Lizifly," a double-body insect that "eats nearly everything (except humans)" and has a stinger to render its prey weak. (Right) Team Turkeys with a fun re-creation of a family of rabbits and birds!

5 - 6 Grade Session Winners

These campers took the contest one step further by giving group presentations of their creations to parents, friends, and staff at the Cool to Care Camp graduation ceremony!

First Place: Team Red Stars with a re-creation of the Amazon Rainforest to include a jaguar on the hunt, a tropical parrot, jungle frogs, and a nearby stream! The Red Stars provided a notable explanation of the jungle's complex food-chain and encouraged protection of the Amazon and its many creatures.

Runners Up: (Left) Team Silver Stars with a wild forest boar and habitat to include a cave, mudhole, and small pond. The Silver Stars advocated on behalf of the often misunderstood animal with an explanation of natural behaviors that breaks the "dirty pigs" myth. (Right) Team Gold Stars with an Arctic habitat to include a polar bear, seal, fish, and a cave with moss. The Gold Stars were quick to point out the fragile status of the endangered polar bear due to global warming and encouraged all to protect this amazing animal.

Thanks again to the campers for their creativity and teamwork to turn recyclable/reusable materials into educational works of art!