Tribune staff seports

The judging for the annual Indiana Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest was conducted March 26 at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge.

A total of 193 entries were submitted by Hoosier students in grades K-12 entering the “Conservation Through Art” contest.

Larissa Weber, a 15-year-old student from Anderson, took the “Best of Show” award with her painting of a black-bellied whistling duck.

This was the second year in a row Weber won the contest, and her entry was forwarded to the national Junior Duck Stamp competition in Washington, D.C. She will compete against other state winners during judging later this month.

An awards ceremony for Indiana first-, second- and third-place winners will be May 14 during the Wings Over Muscatatuck Bird Festival at the refuge visitor center.

The contest promotes learning about waterfowl and conservation through art. The national Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest winner receives a $2,000 cash award, and the artwork is made into a collectable stamp that is sold for $5 at Muscatatuck and many other national wildlife refuges.

The Junior Duck Stamp also is available for purchase from the U.S. Postal Service. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps support conservation education in the states they are sold.

The Indiana Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest is judged in four age categories with three first-, second- and third-place winners in each age category, plus 16 honorable mention winners in each age category.

Hayden Elementary School student Sam Hauersperger received honorable mention in the kindergarten to third-grade division, while the entries of two other Hayden Elementary School students, Elizabeth Evans and Samantha Tolman, were named honorable mention in the fourth- through sixth-grade division.