(Town of Lenox, NY – March 2015) Starting Saturday March 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. a year-long program, Year of the Duck” begins with the Federal Junior Duck Stamp “Best of Show” entries are on display at the Great Swamp Conservancy for two weeks only from March 7 through March 16. The art tour includes between 50 and 54 matted pieces of waterfowl artwork created by young people throughout the United States and the U.S. territories. Provided is by the Federal Duck Stamp Office of the Fish and Wildlife Service in Falls Church, Va.
The Junior Duck Stamp artwork is exhibited at wildlife and outdoor festivals and expositions, state fairs, national wildlife refuges, art galleries, museums, government buildings, and educational conferences.
During the Federal Junior Duck Stamp “Best of Show” exhibit, young artists and youth conservationists in grades K to12 are invited to register for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program. The JDS is an arts and science non-formal curriculum that teaches wetlands and waterfowl conservation to “Waterfowl Friends.” The program incorporates scientific and wildlife management principles into a visual arts curriculum, with participants completing a Junior Duck Stamp design as their visual “term papers.” Any and all students are encouraged to participate in the annual Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest. The winning design from the national contest is used to create the Junior Duck Stamp for the following year. Junior Duck Stamps are sold by the U.S. Postal Service and Amplex Corporation consignees like the Great Swamp Conservancy. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamp support conservation education.
“Waterfowl Friends” will meet at the Great Swamp Conservancy every fourth Saturday of the month, from 1to 3 p.m. Dates of the program are March 28, April 25, May 23, June 27 and July 25 . Registration fee is $25 for non-members and $20 for GSC members.
The last field study session has the “Waterfowl Friends” interviewing a person in the waterfowl study field. What better person than interviewing the winner of this year’s 2014 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, Jennifer Miller, an artist from Olean.
The GSC will host Miller in a One Woman – Two Day Show Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Federal Duck Stamps will be on sale at the Great Swamp Conservancy. Duck Stamps signing by Artist and S/N prints will also be available.
Miller is the first woman winner ever from New York.
Donations are requested.
The Great Swamp Conservancy is located at 8375 North Main St., Canastota.
For more information, call 697-2950 or visit www.greatswampconservancy.org/ for more events this summer.