Page 4 - Outdoor Oklahoma July/Aug 2021

Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

NOT ES ON WILDLIFE • OU T DOOR TI PS • R EA DERS’ LET T ERS • EN V I RON MEN TA L NEWS
C OM PILED BY DON P. BROW N

ALVA STUDENT WINS ODWC SPECIAL AWARD FOR ART

A three-dimensional artwork titled “Oklahoma Opossum” by Hannah Mason
of Alva Schools won the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Special
Award in this year’s Sutton Student Art Award contest.
A 12th-grader, Mason received a special cash prize for the best depiction
of an Oklahoma-related conservation subject. Her sculpture depicts a mother
opossum tending to her squirmy litter of baby joeys.
The first-place Sutton Award winners in each category for this 17th annual
contest are:
• 2-D Art: Rebekah Springer, Victory Christian School,
“Reflection of Reality.”
• 3-D Art: Emma Plunkett, Union High School, “Ghostly Anthozoa.”
• Photography: Jackson Morgan, “Preserving Land and Life.”
Established in 2003, the Sutton Student Art Award recognizes high school
students who demonstrate the ability to communicate current conservation
topics in compelling ways. The show is free to enter and open to all Oklahoma
high school students grades 9-12. The award is funded up to $20,000, which is
distributed to winning student participants and their instructors as determined
by a selection committee. Sponsors include the Wildlife Department, Nature-
Works, American Heritage Bank, and Nothing Bundt Cakes.
“From honeybees to Texas horned lizards, through sculptures to pastels, these stu-
dents have intriguing stories to tell,” said Audra Fogle, development director for the
Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville. “It is exciting to be able to connect our
conservation mission with schools to provide significant scholarships for students
and the teachers who work so hard to run their programs on shoestring budgets.”
Fogle said more than 2,600 students have been encouraged to express them-
selves through this art competition.
The next Sutton Student Art Award competition will start seeking entries in
September with artworks due in January. For more information and to view a
gallery of this year’s entries, go to www.suttoncenter.org/education.

SEEKING ADVENTURE? RAFFLE TICKET DEADLINE SOON

Time is running out to get your name in the drawings for the first Outdoor Oklahoma Adventures! raffle.
Tickets are on sale through Aug. 6, 2021. Some of these prizes are likely once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experiences, so don’t miss out.
Fourteen raffles are being held, with Adventures ranging from hunting and fishing opportunities to wildlife viewing excur-
sions and youth opportunities. Just a few examples: fishing with Jimmy Houston; cow elk hunt; black bear research trip; stream
snorkeling; and many more.
Anyone can enter, whether or not you have a hunting or fishing license. Tickets are $10 each or a bundle of five tickets for $30
for each of the Adventure raffles. Or get an Ultimate Bundle for $50, which enters you into all 14 raffles. There is no limit to the
number of tickets that you can buy.
See all the details of each Adventure along with the rules at www.wildlifedepartment.com/outdoorok/adventures. All raffle
proceeds go directly to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to fund fish and wildlife conservation, and public
hunting and fishing opportunities for everyone to enjoy.

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