State Arbor Day Poster Contest for 5th Graders Accepting Posters

Whether it be sitting down at a wooden kitchen table or working on a math problem with a pencil and paper during hybrid instruction, many Maryland students have been using products made from trees. And that is the theme for the 2021 statewide Arbor Day Contest - Trees are Terrific and Forest Products are too! The program is in partnership with The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service and the Maryland Forest Conservancy District Boards, an association “advocating for trees and forests since 1943.” Posters will be judged first at the county level, and then move onto the next round of evaluation done by the Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee to compete at the statewide level.

Original works of art expressing an appreciation for Maryland’s terrific trees, public and private forests, and the everyday products created, must be poster size, no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches and no larger than 22 by 28 inches. They must be drawn in acrylic, crayon, ink, marker, paint pens, regular or colored pencil, tempera paint, or watercolor. For official rules, go to https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2020/12/14/maryland-fifth-graders-invited-to-submit-arbor-day-posters-for-2021/

· First Place - a tree planting of 15 trees for the winning school

· Second Place - a tree planting of 10 trees for the winning school

· Third Place - a tree planting of 5 trees for the winning school

Last year, Lola Lugard from Carroll placed 1st in the state. Current county 5th graders interested in submitting posters can send them directly to Donna Davis of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service offices in Westminster at 328-A East Nicodemus Road, Westminster, Maryland 21157. For any Carroll student unable to send a poster to the Westminster location by mail, a high resolution digital photo in JPEG format can be forwarded directly to Davis at donnal.davis@maryland.gov

Interested students with questions from the other 22 counties and Baltimore City can send an email to Anne Gilbert of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service anne.gilbert@maryland.gov or call her at 410-260-8510.

Around the state, teachers will be notified of winners by March 19th. Usually, trees are planted the year of the contest. However, depending upon Covid-19 restrictions, trees might be planted spring 2021 or may have to wait until 2020 for the schools selected.

(The writer is a member of the Maryland Urban and Community Forestry Committee.)