FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Fwd: Contest for young birders

["Carol Heiser" <HeiserC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

An ABA opportunity for young birdwatchers you may know:
The 2004 ABA/Leica Young Birder of The Year Contest 

If you're a birder aged 18 years or less, then the ABA/Leica Young Birder of 
the Year Contest is for you! American Birding Association and Leica have 
teamed up to offer this annual competition for young birders. 
This contest appeals to a broad range of interests and talents in young 
birders (ages 10-18). Do you like to take field notes on birds? Draw or 
photograph birds? Write about birds? Then you can choose any or all of four 
"modules" to customize the contest to fit your interests. Here is the 
important information: 
1. The contest runs from April through September. Materials are due at 
ABA by October 15, 2004. View our timeline for more information. 
2. There are two age groups, 10-13, and 14-18 
3. There are four modules in the contest: 
o Field notebook, which involves taking field notes and making field 
sketches of birds that you observe in the field. This is the only required 
module for the overall Young Birder of the Year. 
o Illustration, which involves drawing birds that you see or that 
interest you most. 
o Writing, which involves writing about birds, birdwatching, and your 
experiences with both. 
o Photography, which involves taking photographs of birds either on 
film or digitally. 
4. For each module, and both age groups within that module, there are 
first and second place 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ygbcompz2.htm > module prizes to be 
won 
5. Young Birder of the Year. We will be awarding a 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ygbcompz.htm > grand prize for the 
overall Young Birder of the Year. In order to compete in the overall Young 
Birder of the Year category, you need to participate in at least two of the 
modules (Field Notebook must be one of these) and send in a letter of 
recommendation with your final materials. The letter of recommendation 
should come from a teacher or bird club leader and tell us how you make a 
difference in the birding community. Do you share your enthusiasm of birds 
with others? Are you an active member in a local bird club? Do you volunteer 
for a bird-related project? We want to hear about how you're involved. 
6. In order to make the contest as open to everyone as possible, 
previous Grand Prize winners for the overall Young Birder of the Year 
Contest may compete in modules but are NOT eligible to win the Overall Young 
Birder of the Year more than one time. 
You are not required to participate in the overall Young Birder of the Year 
category to participate in the contest - you may participate in one or more 
modules of your choice. There are first and second place prizes (in both age 
groups) for each of the four modules. 

What You Need to Do 

To have a chance to win, you'll need to do the following: 
* Choose a < http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ygbcompmod.htm > 
module (or modules) in which you would like to participate 
* Complete and send us your registration form with your registration 
fee by June 1, 2004. 
* If you are a first time participant, please use the " 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ybcomfirst.pdf > First Time" 
registration form 
* If you participated last year in the YBY Contest, please use the " 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ybcomrepeat.pdf > Repeat" 
registration form 
* Actively participate in your selected module(s) 
* Send us your completed materials by October 15, 2005 
A panel of well-known birding professionals will judge your materials and, 
if you've shown great improvement, effort, and/or skill, you stand a chance 
of winning some of the fabulous prizes donated by our sponsors. If you're 
still interested, read on! 
.....for more information, visit: 
http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ygbcomp.htm 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/ygbcomp.htm > 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

ABA also offers other great programs for young birders, including birding 
camps for youngsters, ages 14 - 18. Please check out 
http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/edcamp.htm 
< http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/edcamp.htm > for more information.. 
Scholarships may still be available, so please contact Lori Fujimoto at 
719-578-9703 ext. 237 for more information. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


 
Carol A. Heiser
Habitat Ed. Coordinator
Va. Dept. of Game & Inland Fisheries
4010 W. Broad St.
Richmond, VA  23230
phone (804) 367-6989
fax (804) 367-2311
cheiser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


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