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Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition

The Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition (TSAC) is a regional environmental education program, involving Campbelltown City Council, Camden Council and Wollondilly Shire Council. The competition celebrates Biodiversity Month (September) and Threatened Species Day on Saturday 7 September.

The Macarthur region, our backyard, is home to a wide diversity of native plants and animals. Many of these plants and animals are affected by a range of impacts such as habitat loss, competition and predation from non-native species and foreign diseases. There are a range of species occurring within the local region that are at risk of extinction and have been listed as ‘Threatened Species.’

The competition targets all stages of primary school and is open to young people aged 5-16. TSAC encourages students to learn about a local threatened species and represent it in an artwork or creative writing piece. Winners will have the opportunity to be featured in the video to describe their artwork and inspiration.

The competition is now in its 17th year and through its cross-curricular nature has been successfully engaging primary schools in Geography, Science, Visual Arts and English throughout the Macarthur region.

How to enter

Whether you're creating an artwork or writing piece, entering is easy.

Simply complete the online entry form and attach your artwork or creative writing piece.

Entries have now closed.

Entering an artwork

All you need to do is ensure your entry:

Is of a threatened plant or animal species(PDF, 3MB) that occurs in the Macarthur region and on any sized paper
Be as creative as possible - you could use pens, pencils, crayons, or even stick things on, like leaves, twigs, recycled waste or cellophane
Includes your name, age and contact details on the artwork.

If you are entering as a school, please ensure that each student's name, age, school and class is identified on the artwork.

Entering a creative writing story

We want you to write a short story that celebrates the beauty and uniqueness of our threatened plants and animals(PDF, 3MB).

You can get as creative as you like, however the story must include facts about one or more of the following:

The plant or animal's habitat
The plant or animal's diet
The threats to the plant or animal
How you think we can save the plant or animal from extinction.

Entry is open to writers aged 8 to 16 years. All you need to do is:

Write a creative story that could be read to someone aged 5-6 years old
Make sure your story is no longer than one A4 page.

Waste to Art

Waste and plastic pollution has an enormous impact on the local and global environment.

The Waste to Art category:

Aims to get students to consider how we might be contributing to the problem, and what we can do to move to a more sustainable future.
Presents a reminder to practice the ‘5 Rs’ of waste minimisation: Refuse, Reduce, Repair, Reuse, and Recycle.

If your artwork qualifies for the Waste to Art category, remember to tick/check this box when submitting your entry.

For artwork inspiration and information about some of our local threatened species, and threats to their survival, check out our page on Biodiversity in Campbelltown, Saving our Species learning material or read our Threatened Species Fact Sheet.(PDF, 3MB)

Teacher resources

We have created a teachers resource kit(PDF, 5MB) to assist with the delivering the competition in classrooms.

You can promote the competition in your school community with our Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition Poster(PDF, 495KB) , Hard Copy Entry Form(PDF, 2MB) and Flyer(PDF, 495KB) .

To learn more about our threatened plants and animals and what threats they face read our Threatened Species List.(PDF, 3MB)

Submit your entry

Entries open Friday 14 June 2024.

Entries have now closed.

Judging of creative writing entries

Each year we receive some inspiring reasons as to why students are inspired to create an artwork of their chosen species, and we want to capture these wonderful written words in the form of creative short stories.

To determine the best competition entries, Council’s library and environment staff have developed creative writing criteria and will be judging the stories against this.

Creative writing criteria:

50% for three or more accurate facts about your chosen species
20% creativity
10% grammar
10% structure. Beginning-middle-end.

Prizes

Artwork entries will be judged across the following age groups:

5-6 years, 7-9 years, 10-12 years, 12-16 years.

1st Prize: Threatened Species Eco pack valued up to $120
2nd Prize: Threatened Species Eco pack valued up to $100
3rd Prize: Threatened Species Eco pack valued up to $80.

Terms and Conditions

Creative writing and artwork entries must be on an any piece of paper. Entries close Monday 5 August 2024.
Entries must feature a threatened plant or animal species that occurs in the Macarthur region.
Each individual entry must have an entry form attached if submitting a hard copy.
If you are entering as a school, please ensure that each student’s name, age, school and class is identified on the artwork or story.
Creative writing entries must include real facts about the featured plant or animal.
Artwork entries can incorporate any medium, including painting, collage and drawing.
Entrants in this competition give permission for their artwork and/ or story to be publicly displayed and reproduced by print and electronic media by the competition organisers for not-for-profit publications, advertising and promotional purposes, and for their name to be published if they are a winner.
Entries submitted by school groups/classes will be available for collection from respective local Council offices following the conclusion of the competition.
Any uncollected hard copy entries will be donated to local schools and/or libraries.
All personal information gathered by the competition organisers will be used solely for the purposes of administering the Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition.
The judging panel will include a representative from each Council and their decision will be final.
Respective Councillors, competition organisers, the judging panel and their immediate families are not eligible to enter the competition.