Local children can show their love for local threatened plants and animals by entering the 15th annual Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition.

The competition, to be run in partnership with Campbelltown City and Wollondilly Shire Councils, encourages students to learn about a local threatened plant or animal and represent it in an artwork or creative writing piece.

The competition is open from Monday 25 July to Friday 26 August, for children aged between five and 12 years.

Mayor of Camden, Cr Therese Fedeli encouraged local primary school students to learn about local flora or fauna and enter the competition.

“It is exciting for Council to run this competition in partnership with Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils which truly allows young residents to learn about the unique environment of the Macarthur area,” Cr Fedeli said.

“We are lucky enough to be living in one of the most beautiful areas and it is important to not only learn about but also protect our local threatened plants or animals.”

“There are some fantastic prizes to be won, with entrants going into the running to win a share of $900 worth of Eco packs. The primary school with the greatest number of student entries will win a tray of 50 native tube stock grown by Wollondilly Community Nursery.”

The categories of entry are as follows:

• Artwork: open to age groups of five to six, seven to nine and 10 to 12 years;
• Creative writing: open to students aged eight to 12 years; and
• Waste to Art: open to students of all ages.

Council will also host two art workshops at Alan Baker Art Gallery to assist those interested in entering the competition, including:

Drawing a Camden White Gum
When: Saturday 6 August, 11am - 12pm
What: Participants will draw the tall Camden White Gum, a vulnerable species that is found along the Nepean River, using soft pastel on coloured paper. All materials are provided.

Swift Parrot Collage
When: Saturday 13 August, 2pm - 3pm
What: Participants will create a collage of the endangered Swift Parrot using recycled materials. Participants are asked to bring along a bag of coloured recycled items such as cardboard food or shoe boxes, old magazines, postcards, paper, fabric off-cuts, or mesh, to use for their collage. All other materials will be provided and we will have extra recycled materials on hand.

For more information on the competition and to enter, go to www.camden.nsw.gov.au and search ‘Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition’.