Attention students ages 11 to 17: Here's an opportunity to "write your ticket" to a great outdoor adventure next summer! The deadline is Nov. 11 to enter the 2016 Creative Writing Competition, co-sponsored by Oklahoma Station Chapter Safari Club International and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
There are two divisions - ages 11-14 and ages 15-17 - and a boy and a girl will be named winners in each division. Essays no longer than 500 words or short stories no longer than 1,000 words must be based on one of two themes:
- Hunting: Sharing the Heritage
- Archery: What I Like About Archery in the Schools and Bowhunting
"Each year, when I review the youth essay submissions, I'm reminded about how important it is to pass along our heritage of hunting," said Colin Berg, education supervisor for the Wildlife Department.
Contestants must be enrolled in any Oklahoma school or must be homeschool students, and each entrant must have successfully completed the Oklahoma Hunter Education course by the entry deadline, Nov. 11, 2016.
The four statewide winners and their legal guardians will be invited to Oklahoma City to attend an awards ceremony in March. In addition, the top 25 essay or story writers will receive a one-year youth membership to Safari Club International. The winning essays or stories will be published in "Safari Trails," the chapter's newsletter, which qualifies the winning entries for the Outdoor Writers Association of America's Youth Writing Contest. Several past national winners have come from Oklahoma. Essays and stories may also be published in Outdoor Oklahoma, the official Wildlife Department magazine.
The junior division winners will each win a hunting trip to the Chain Ranch to hunt for a hog or ram, and a scholarship to the Outdoor Texas Camp for hunting during the summer of 2017. The senior division winners will each win a guided antelope hunt in the Texas Panhandle (contingent upon current hunting regulations). The Oklahoma Station Chapter will reimburse travel expenses to Texas up to $500 per winner.
For complete details, check out the 2016 Creative Writing Competition page on the Wildlife Department's website, www.wildlifedepartment.com.
2016 Conservation Education Scholarship
Educators also have a chance to enter and win an outdoor adventure. Two educators will get a scholarship to an eight-day conservation education school at Safari Club International's American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS) at Granite Ranch near Jackson, Wyo. The AWLS program covers many aspects of conservation education.
Lodging, meals, and training materials will be provided by Oklahoma Station Chapter SCI. Transportation to Jackson, Wyo., will be covered by the Wildlife Department. For complete details, check out the 2016 Conservation Education Scholarship for Educators on the Department's website.
Essays and applications must be postmarked no later than Nov. 11, 2016, or delivered by Nov. 11 in-person to the Wildlife Department's Jenks Office at 201 Aquarium Drive, Jenks. Address entries to Essay Contest, Attn: Education Section Supervisor, ODWC Jenks Office, P.O. Box 1201, Jenks, OK 74037. Faxed entries will not be accepted.