News Release

2022 Youth Arts in the Parks Contest Now Open for Wildlife

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Butterfly Weed © Grace Bennett, 11th grade, home school, Fayette County. 2021 Appalachian Spring Wildflower Art Contest – Best in Show.

News Release Date: November 30, 2021
Contact: Jodi French-Burr, 304-575-6496

Glen Jean, West Virginia — Youth Arts in the Parks (YAP) 2022 Appalachian Spring Wildflower Art Contest time is here including wildflowers and a creature feature. Local students can tap into their love of nature by entering this year’s contest in two categories, the classic handmade Wildflower Art and the Digital Art Critter Challenge. As many students are spending time learning in the classroom and online, this year’s contest categories give youth the chance to spread their creative art wings in both digital and handmade art.  Through YAP, students have the opportunity to serve as community leaders and raise awareness of Appalachia’s natural diversity and parks. Their works can inspire community connections to ecology, parks, and outdoor stewardship. Some students have the chance to explore the business of art and its role in economic development through this annual contest.   

2022 Contest Rules: This art contest is open to all K – 12-grade students of Fayette, Nicholas, Raleigh, and Summers Counties. Youth can enter art independently or through their school or youth organization. Students can use various mediums to create handmade art inspired by a spring Appalachian wildflower found in the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. They can also enter a digitally created wildlife piece. Updated 2022 contest rules, list of accepted wildflower and wildlife species, online entry procedures, digital art critter challenge details, and some species photo references are available online http://www.nps.gov/neri/youth-arts-in-the-parks.htm.   

Contest Online Entry Window: Submit photos of art entries online between December 1, 2021 – February 2, 2022. A link to the online entry platform is on the contest website listed above. Top entries will be featured in the spring 2022 art exhibit online and at Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia.  

Spring Nature Festival: This Youth Arts in the Parks contest is part of 2022 Spring Nature Fling event celebrating southern West Virginia’s diverse ecology. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Tamarack, and several West Virginia State Parks partner to host this public event in April and May. The 2022 spring festivities are currently in development and will feature new programs, along with fun tips to help each of us discover more about nature while in the outdoors and online. Coordinators will announce event details as this celebration draws near.  Join this celebration of ecology through art now with Youth Arts in the Parks! 

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