02/6/17

Winners 2016 Kids Art Contest – Part Two

PART TWO

Frogs Are Green thanks all the children from around the world for participating in our annual Kids Art Contest! The variety of subject, medium and cultural diversity made choosing incredibly hard! We also thank the parents and teachers that helped children learn more about frogs and bugs!

This year we received 1441 artworks from 32 countries and almost every state in the USA! Here in New Jersey I’m proud to share that the Wallace Elementary School of Hoboken submitted 400 artworks! That is a school project to be proud of! Jersey City students also turned in approximately 75 artworks! We also received quite a lot of artwork from China, Sri Lanka and Turkey, so you will see we selected the best of each of these countries also.

We want to thank the judges and we applaud them in choosing from a field of exceptional artworks: Jonathan Kolby, Geoff Mosher, Pam Andes, Bethe Ann Schwartz, Erin A. Delaney, Sigrid Shreeve, and Valerie Clark.

All winners receive a custom certificate based on how you placed, so email us to receive yours. The 1st place winners in each of the 4 age groups receive prizes, so email us!

And now for the winners… (wait for the page to load!!)

WINNERS by Categories

Best Black and White Artwork

1st Place: Minsoo Jung, 11 years old, USA
2nd Place: Seyoung Bae, 11 years old, USA
3rd Place: Shanmukh Gollu, 16 years old, India

Honorable Mentions:

Arriyah Rivera, 9 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Dheeman Gangopadhyay, 13 years old, UAE
Junu Sim, 9 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Nylah Rosado, 11 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Zoriah Calcano, 9 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Best Typographic Artwork

1st Place: Colin Song, 16 years old, USA
2nd Place: Lynn Sun, 8 years old, NJ, USA
3rd Place: Riya Roshan Joseph, 15 years old, UAE

Honorable Mention:

Gusti Ayu Wedha Putri Surya, 10 years old, Indonesia

Best Artworks from Jersey City, NJ, USA

1st Place: George Azmy, 17 years old, Jersey City, NJ, USA
2nd Place: Darinka Arones, 8th grade, Jersey City, NJ, USA
3rd Place: Jeffry Bello, 15 years old, Jersey City, NJ, USA

Honorable Mentions:

Gregory Garcia, 10 years old, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Rosemary Rosario, 9 years old, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Shivangi Pastagia, 16 years old, Jersey City, NJ, USA

Best Artworks from Hoboken, NJ, USA

1st Place: Ciara Groomes, 11 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
2nd Place: Nylah Rosado, 11 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
3rd Place: Sarah Burns, 8 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Honorable Mentions:

Amber Rodriguez, 9 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Ava DiGiacomo, 8 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Elizabeth Bright, 9 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Jayanna Wheeler, 7 years old, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Best Artwork from Sri Lanka

1st Place: Geethma Tashani Thalangama, 13 years old, Sri Lanka
2nd Place: W. W. Lakindu Chamindra Mendis, 6 years old, Sri Lanka
3rd Place: Himara Hasindi Liyange, 9 years old, Sri Lanka

Honorable Mentions:

H. P. Chanuki Vimarshi Caldera, 13 years old, Sri Lanka
Thinaura Gunasekara, 13 years old, Sri Lanka
Kushan Sawinda Jayawardana, 13 years old, Sri Lanka
D. Sethuli Mevansa Jayasekara, 11 years old, Sri Lanka

Best Artwork from Turkey

1st Place: Dalya Kinsizer-Hisar Okullari, age group 13-17, Turkey
2nd Place: Nil Ozdal, 7 years old, Turkey
3rd Place: Irmak Yesim Gelirli, 9 years old, Turkey

Honorable Mention:

Bugra Ozenc, 8 years old, Turkey

Best Artwork from Hong Kong, China:

1st Place: Yeung Chi Wai, 6 years old, School of Creativity, Hong Kong
2nd Place: Lam Tsun Hay, 6 years old, Chong Hok Tong Education Center, Hong Kong
3rd Place: Chan Chi Lam, 4 years old, School of Creativity, Hong Kong

Honorable Mention:

Young Hei Wun, 6 years old, Chong Hok Tong Education Center, Hong Kong

06/29/16

Junior Herpetologist of the Year Sarah Brabec

Frogs Are Green is proud to repost this wonderful article sent to us by Lisa and Sarah Brabec. We couldn’t agree more and look forward to hearing from Sarah when she’s closer to us on the East coast!

By Anna Spoerre
Journal Star reporter

BRIMFIELD — To Sarah Brabec, herpetology is more than just the study of reptiles and amphibians, it’s a lifestyle.

On a recent day, the 90-degree weather didn’t seem to bother Brabec, 14, as she waded barefoot through a creek at Jubilee College State Park, a small green net in hand. Two large tadpoles resurfaced with the mesh — an exciting catch for the Junior Herpetologist of the Year at the 2016 International Herpetological Symposium.

“(Herpetology) is more than just a hobby,” Brabec said. “It’s a passion … something I want to spend my life doing.”

Brabec is presenting at the 39th annual International Herpetological Symposium that began Wednesday and runs through Saturday in St. Louis. There, she joins experts in discussions and programs about the scaly, cold-blooded creatures.

Sarah Brebac

“It’s just amazing how much she’s been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time,” said Jill Wallace, an environmental educator at Sugar Grove Nature Center in McLean, where Brabec likes to visit with her family.

When she was 6, Brabec joined the Central Illinois Herpetological Society. During her time there she’s presented in front of hundreds of people and helped to start a junior program within the society, said Doug Holmes, president of the society.

She said last year’s international conference in Austin, Texas — which she participated in as a runner-up — taught her that herpetology is about more than saving frogs. It’s about helping to promote public interest, she said, which falls in line with increasingly popular education-based global sustainability practices.

“The key need in conservation success is education of younger kids,” Brabec said.

Sarah Brebac examines amphibian

She began teaching children to conserve and save animals in Peoria, going into classrooms and talking to grade-schoolers about reptiles. Sometimes she brings her favorite creatures along to engage the students.

“You can hold frogs in your hands,” Brabec said. “Kids can really connect to that.”

She would know. Brabec’s mother, Lisa Brabec, said she started chasing reptiles when she was 4, always returning home with a new animal hidden behind her back.

“When they find their passion, feed it,” said Lisa Brabec, who often takes her daughter exploring at nearby creeks and ponds.

When asked about some of the more interesting moments that come with having a house full of reptiles and amphibians, she said with a chuckle, “my Mother’s Day gift went missing one year.”

Sixth months later they found the runaway snake hiding between their kitchen cabinets. Despite this, Lisa Brabec said she’s grown fonder of all slimy, slithery creatures her daughter introduces to the family.

“My parents are troopers,” the younger Brabec said with a smile.

Last year, Sarah Brabec even began writing a children’s book with a local herpetologist. But, the project has been put on hold.

“I learned that all it takes for kids is adults who think they’re capable,” Lisa Brabec said.

Though Sarah Brabec said she doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do in the future, she said saving wildlife is crucial, and she wants to continue playing a role in that endeavor.

In the meantime, she and her family are preparing to move to Atlanta later this summer, where Sarah Brabec said she’s excited to find eastern narrow mouth toads.

“You can just tell some kids are really hooked,” Holmes said. “I think eventually she’ll make a career out of it.”

Anna Spoerre can be reached at 686-3296 and aspoerre@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter.com/annaspoerre.

01/10/16

Winners 2015 Kids Art Contest

We want to thank all of the students, parents and teachers that helped make this year’s contest so diverse! It’s always exciting to see artwork from as close as our own Jersey City and New York, and as far away as Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Latvia, China, and many other countries. We want to thank the judges and we applaud them in choosing from a field of exceptional artworks: Sam Skolnik-Mullane, Peter Thorpe, Rachel Rommel, Monique Sarfity, Mark Lerer, Caley Vickerman, Coyote Peterson, and Carmine Tabone.

All winners receive a custom certificate based on how you placed, so email us to receive yours.

And now for the winners… (wait for the page to load)

WINNERS by Age Group and Categories

Winners: Age Group – 3-6 years old

1st Place: Chan Yan Kiu Karstyn, 5 years old, Hong Kong, Arttra

2nd Place: Sophie Wang, 6 years old, Edison, NJ, USA

3rd Place: Kwan Sum Yu Rainie, 4 years old, Hong Kong, Arttra.

Honorable Mention: Sanjay Balaji, 6 years old, Sharron Art Center, NJ, USA

Honorable Mention: Vrishas Bolukonda, 4.6 years old, India
Caption:Help Me, Save Urselves; Think Green, Save Green

Honorable Mention: Soumya Sawant, 5 years old, Sharron Art Center, NJ USA

 

Winners: Age Group – 7-9 years old

1st Place: Kalisha Athaya Mahira, 7 years old, Indonesia

2nd Place: Worth Lodriga, 7 years old, The Phillipines

3rd Place: Stephanie Wang, 7 years old, New York, USA

Honorable Mention: Jennifer Tian, 9 years old, USA

Honorable Mention: Shristuti Srirapu, 9 years old, India
Caption: Give a helping hand to frogs

Honorable Mention: Angelina Wang, 8 years old, Edison, NJ, USA

 

Winners: Age Group – 10-12 years old

1st Place: Jonathan Qi, 12 years old, USA

2nd Place: Tanvi Gadre, 12 years old, India

3rd Place: Leon Ma, 10 years old, USA

Honorable Mention: Dhanvi Sayani, 10-12 years old, United Arab Emirates

Honorable Mention: Jason Kong, 10 Years Old, New York, USA

Honorable Mention: Emmi Lomakka, age 10, California, USA

 

Winners: Age Group 13-17 Years old

1st Place: Raisha Alifia Rahmani, 14 years old, Indonesia

2nd Place: Mohsen Abdalla 17 years old, USA, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor: Lisa Schwichtenberg

3rd Place: Nicole Padilla 17 years old, USA, NJ, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor Lisa Schwichtenberg

Honorable Mention: Jeanpierre Roa, 13-17 years, McNair Academic High School, Jersey City, Art Specialist-Scott Mallm

Honorable mention: Eanne Chiang, 14 years old, New Jersey, USA

Honorable Mention: Parth Vora, 13-17 years old, McNair Academic High School, Jersey City, Art Specialist-Scott Mallm

 

Best Environmental

1st Place: Mohsen Abdalla 17 years old, USA, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor: Lisa Schwichtenberg

2nd Place: Diego Manosalves 17 years old, USA, NJ, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor: Lisa Schwichtenberg

3rd Place: Kalisha Athaya Mahira, 7 years old, Malaysia

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Qi, 12 years old, USA

Honorable Mention: Nicole Padilla 17 years old, USA, NJ, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor Lisa Schwichtenberg

 

Best Black and White

1st Place: Lee Xin Yee, 11 years old, School: SJKC Sin Min A, Kedah, Malaysia

2nd Place: Zaniab Ali, 12 years old, Diana Gonzalez, Art Specialist MS#4, Jersey City, NJ

3rd Place: Darius Lim Wei Chen, 9 years old, Singapore

Honorable Mention: Parthi Jain, 7 years old, Bahrain

 

Best 3D Artwork

1st Place: Dhanvi Sayani, 10-12 years old, United Arab Emirates

2nd Place: Paula Nataniela Roba, 15 years old, “Proteus anguinus”

3rd Place: Seth Medina Assisted by Aida, Grade 8, PS#28, Art Teacher: Susan Ferro

Honorable Mention: Toms Laugalis, 11 years old, Latvia, “Tree frog”

 

Best Typographic

1st Place: Tanvi Gadre, 12 years old, India

2nd Place: Allie Kong, 8 years old, Sharron Art Center, NJ, USA

3rd Place: Ashley Ko, 7-9 years old

Honorable Mention: Manny Alvarez, 14 years old, M.S. #7, JC, NJ, USA

Honorable Mention: Nishi Patel, 12 years old, M.S. #7, Jersey City, NJ, USA, Art Teacher: Mrs. Jimenez

Honorable Mention: Lynn Sun, 7 years old, Edison, NJ, USA

 

Best Student / Elder Artwork Collaboration

1st Place: Arriana Rock, age 6 and Mallory Rock, age 31, Frederick, CO, USA

2nd Place: Vrishas Bolukonda (4.6 Yr) – Shalini (27 years old), A frog in the wild, India

3rd Place: Arriana Rock, age 6 and Brian Younger (Grandpa), age 65, Frederick, CO, USA

 

Best of Jersey City

1st Place: Mohsen Abdalla 17 years old, USA, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor: Lisa Schwichtenberg

2nd Place: Sylvie-Marlene Sobngwi, 13-17 years old, McNair Academic HS, JC, Art Specialist, Scott Mallm

3rd Place: Nicole Padilla 17 years old, USA, NJ, Jersey City Public Schools, Liberty High School, Art Instructor Lisa Schwichtenberg

Honorable Mention: Jeanpierre Roa, 13-17 years old, McNair Academic High School, Jersey City, Art Specialist,Scott Mallm

 

Best of Hong Kong

1st Place: Lau Wing Sum, 5 Years Old, School of Creativity, Hong Kong, China

2nd Place: Law Hui Laam, 5 Years Old, School of Creativity, Hong Kong, China

3rd Place: Lau Wing Kei Angel, 9 years old, Hong Kong, China

Honorable Mention: Ng Tsz Ying, 5 Years Old, Chong Hok Tong Education Center, Hong Kong, China

Honorable Mention: Bridget Liu,5 Years Old, School of Creativity, Hong Kong, China

12/17/15

How To Teach Your Kids About Climate Change

 
Teaching your kids about climate change is no easy task. A lot of parents avoid talking about it with their kids because they have no idea how to bring it up. Climate change is also scary, even for adults, so great care needs to be taken when explaining things to your little ones.

By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


 

It’s important that they still get a realistic overview and that you are honest with your children. However, you want to spark their interest in climate change, rather than scare them. They need to know about the problems climate change causes, but you must also find a way of explaining the solutions. They need to feel like they can make a difference.
 

Our kids and future generations need to be taught about how they can make a difference, and just how crucial their actions will be. Obviously, the depth and complexity of your conversation will depend on the age of your child. As they get older you can discuss the more complex scientific aspects of climate change, but when they are young, you just want to gently make them aware.
 

There are plenty of interesting ways you can ignite your children’s interest in climate change. Learning about the challenges the world faces doesn’t have to be too serious or boring. Here are some fantastic ways of teaching your kids about climate change.
 
Make climate change fun with educational games, apps and websites
 

There are many different tools and resources that have been created specifically for kids who are interested in the environment. Climate change is easily incorporated into lots of great games for kids.
 

There are entire websites specifically dedicated to teaching kids about climate change, and even some apps that touch on the subject. For example, NASA’s Climate Kids, Tiki The Penguin and The Young People’s Trust for the environment. There are even Apple and Android apps that help teach kids about climate change, such as Painting with Time and Offset.
 

Show them climate change videos made for kids
 
A quick search on YouTube will provide you with plenty of videos about the environment for kids. For example, this ‘global warming for kids’ video. Videos like this explain climate change in a way that kids can easily digest and process, and they are also fun to watch. Watch the videos with your kids and then let them ask questions afterwards.
 

Open their minds on family days out
 
You can subtly bring up the topic of climate change by going on educational days out. Take your kids to wildlife parks, on nature walks and to museums (such as The Natural History Museum). All these things will get them thinking about the environment and continue their education.
 

Let them explore climate by through being creative
 
Set your kids some fun tasks that are loosely related to climate change and the environment. Once they have had an introduction to climate change, get them to try and get their thoughts down on paper. They could write a poem about climate change, or try and paint their own interpretation of climate change. You could also come up with some fun climate change related games that you can play at home as a family.
 

Help them understand green living
 
Teaching your children how to live in an eco-friendly way will help enhance their knowledge of climate change. Make sure they know how to recycle and teach them to be aware of how much energy they are using. For example, switching lights off when they are not in use and not using more water than they need.
 

Let them develop a passion for nature
 
Your children may naturally become interested in climate change if they develop a passion for nature. If they fall in love with nature and enjoy spending time in the great outdoors then they are more likely to want to help protect our planet. Take your kids out walking, camping and get them involved in gardening.
 

Buy them books with underlying messages
 
If your child likes to read then buy them some climate change-related books. For young kids, the topic of climate change can be introduced gently through reading book with underlying messages. Older kids with an interest in the topic can go into much more depth. You can buy them books that teach them about how to protect the environment and that explain the science behind climate change.
 

The following is a guest post from Edward Woodward. A writer and a blogger at Kedel blog.

12/13/15

Reptile Kingdom Resides in Painting Workshop

Dec.6, 2015
Text by LAN Lianchao
Video by LAN Lianchao & CHANG Zhuojin & SHI Xinyue & LIU Yuting

Hundreds of transparent boxes are piled up against the wall, with simulated wild environments. The residents of those cubical rooms have watched the day and night of the painting workshop, ARTTRA, for seven years.

The vivarium belongs to a painter, Herman Chan, 41, who has over 100 reptiles from about 50 species.

“Maybe you can not find a second painting workshop with so many reptiles in Hong Kong,” he says.

Chan’s pets attract people who learn painting in a way of improving their ability of observation. Reptile knowledge is a bonus for curious students.

Chan says he collects and breeds various species of reptiles on purpose. “I enjoy taking care of them technically,” he says.

The first reptile owned by Chan was a salamander when he was in the primary school. Since then he has never stopped.

Chan used to raise his reptiles at home, afraid of customers’ resistance against them. He says he hopes to stay with them more, not only the time after work.

Not until he took a chameleon to the studio did he find the charisma of his pets. Children are really into it and inspired to watch the detailed of the animal, Chan says.

Meanwhile Chan tells them chameleons change color due to the temperature, humidity or light, not the background colors thought by many people.

“The studio is a perfect combination of my hobby and job,” Chan adds. “It is an incubator for my reptiles and my painting.”

Chan Tsz Yin Andrea, 5 yrs old, Hong Kong, Arttra.

Chan Tsz Yin Andrea, 5 yrs old, Hong Kong, Arttra.

With the Frogs Are Green annual children’s art contest deadline approaching, you can see how engaged the young students are by learning about amphibians and reptiles, seeing them up close, and then expressing themselves through art. I’m thrilled that Herman’s students entered our annual contest!

This blog was originally posted on https://lanlianchao.wordpress.com Frogs Are Green has permission to repost it.

12/4/15

Environmentalism: It’s up to YOU to teach the young

It’s December and there are just 11 days left for children to enter the 2015 kids art contest, and all ages to enter the photo contest. As I watch artworks and photos trickle in, I’m wondering (as I did in 2013) why aren’t more people participating? (read >> The Young Environmental Artist)

I see a pattern here. The climate talks are on in Paris, but most are just talkers and not doers. It’s not enough to “like” and share pictures and articles on social media, and not actually do something to show you care.

My own Jersey City made me proud last year with close to 200 students from 17 schools submitting artworks. In addition, we received artworks from 17 states in the US and 32 countries around the world. The total last year was close to 1000 pieces of creative expression. It was marvelous! The winning artworks were celebrated online and in 3 well received exhibitions including an exhibition in Jersey City’s City Hall.

Jersey City is a culturally active area with a large artist community, and yet these same artists, many who have children, aren’t participating either. So, I’m back to wondering why it’s easier for me to reach parents and teachers in other countries and not those in my own area?

I’m asking you now… educators and parents to explain to the young why they should care about wildlife and the environment and I’ll continue to do my part to help amphibians and the environment too.

Please make me proud by entering today!

 

Susan Newman,
Founder, Frogs Are Green, Inc.
A NJ nonprofit organization – “Healthy frogs mean a healthy planet for all.”

Below is one of my favorite entries from 2014.

1st Place Winner, Kardelen Koc, Turkey, Frogs Are Green Kids Art Contest 2014, age 3-6 group

1st Place Winner 2014, Kardelen Koc, Turkey, Frogs Are Green Kids Art Contest 2014, age 3-6 group