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Maryland Department of the Environment

Color Maryland Green Contest Names Winners

Media contact: Karis King – kking@dnr.state.md.us

Color Maryland Green Contest Names Winners
Grand prize artwork to be featured on Bay Game cover

(ANNAPOLIS, MD – April 23, 2014) Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Joe Gill, and the Department of the Environment Secretary Bob Summers, today announced the winners of the Color Maryland Green contest at an award ceremony at Tawes Garden in Annapolis. The top 10 creations were chosen from 120 contestants, grades K-12, who submitted original artwork and poetry inspired by their appreciation for the State’s natural world. The grand prize winner was Fragaria and Oriole by Kern Lee of Gaithersburg, which will be featured on the cover of the 2014-2015 Maryland Bay Game. 

“I want to congratulate all participants on their great works, and thank these artists for sharing their talents with us,” said Secretary Gill. “Nature-inspired activities such as Color Maryland Green provide our State’s youth the opportunity to show their appreciation for the outdoors and learn the importance of environmental stewardship.”

The annual contest is designed to encourage children to take advantage of the abundant recreational opportunities and natural resources that Maryland has to offer. The entries included photographs, oil paintings, pencil and charcoal sketches, computer designs, crayon and marker drawings and poetry. Each piece was unique in encapsulating the beauty and wonder of the State’s great outdoors.

“From scenic sketches to thought-provoking poems, all of the entries were fantastic, making it extremely difficult for us to pick the winners,” said MDE Secretary Summers. “We are amazed by the imagination, passion and creativity these students used to express their relationship with nature.”

Sponsored by MDE and DNR, the agencies’ Office of Communications staff, along with local teachers, chose one entry from each age group in poetry, art and photography. To view all of the winners, click here. To view photos from yesterday’s event, click here.

The 2014 winners:

Poetry:

  • Grade K-2: Jamie Collender of Baltimore
  •  3-6: Apple Lu of Frostburg
  • 7-9: By Sophia Alesandrini of Annapolis
  • 10-12: Liz Kelly of Phoenix

Art:

  • Grade K-2: Tyler Wu of Ellicott City
  • 3-6: Alana Koh of New Market
  • 7-9: Kern Lee of Gaithersburg (Grand prize winner)  

Photography:

  • K-2: Connor Wu of Ellicott City
  • 3-6: Maya Kang of Severna Park
  • 7-9: Katelyn Kluh of La Plata

All of the winners were awarded 2014 Maryland State Park Passports, which, for the entire year, provide unlimited day-use entry for everyone in a car, unlimited boat launching at all State Park facilities, and more. Their works will also be featured in the upcoming Bay Game activity booklet, to be released this summer. For more information about the Color Maryland Green contest and how to enter, visit dnr.state.md.us/education/cmg_about.asp.

The contest supports Governor Martin O’Malley’s Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature, established to ensure all Maryland young people have the opportunity to connect with their natural world and grow to become informed and responsible stewards.

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