More than 1,000 students from Mobile and Baldwin county schools participated in an art contest held by the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The annual contest promotes an awareness and appreciation of Alabama’s coastal resources. The winning photographs are featured in Alabama’s 2007 “Conserving and Enjoying Alabama’s Coastal Resources” art calendar. The calendars will be available free to the public in January 2007 at various locations, including Alabama Marine Resources offices in Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island.

There were 1,053 students from 40 schools who submitted art works depicting recreational and commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, boating, keeping our beaches clean, seafood (shrimp, crabs, oysters and fish of the Gulf of Mexico), marine life (sea turtles, dolphins, invertebrates and fish of the Gulf of Mexico), fishing piers and artificial reefs, and Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement. The entries were considered by a panel of judges consisting of three artists and two marine scientists. From these entries, 72 were selected to be featured in the 2007 art calendar.

The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium graciously provided the funds to have all winning entries matted and framed for exhibition in four different museums. In January and February of 2007 they will be on display at the University of South Alabama Library Gallery. From there they will go the Mobile Arts Council for the month of April and then to the Mobile Museum of Art in May and June. Their final showing will be at the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope during July. After that show the pictures will be returned to the students.

Alabama Marine Resources and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium thank all those who participated and congratulate the winning entries featured in the 2007 calendar. The following students are the winners in this year’s contest.

ALLENTOWN ELEMENTARY
Kaitlyn Moody, Rachel Sullivan, Sierra Parmer

BAYSIDE ACADEMY
Caroline Chambliss, Brianna Carmony, Alex Green, Audrey Mecke, Lauren Dunigan, Lydia Renfroe, McLelland-Rae Johnson, John Null, Ashlyn Hamel, Alex Beaman, Jack Maulding

BREITLING ELEMENTARY
Natalie Danielle Badon

CHI ALPHA ACADEMY
Cody Dobbins

COVENANT CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Shelby Baldwin, Caitlin Riordan

E.R. DICKSON ELEMENTARY
Nichole Baptista

DIXON ELEMENTARY
DeAngelo Blake Johnson, Kellie Kathrine Stone

DODGE ELEMENTARY
Azeline Faye Borja Arcenal

FAIRHOPE INTERMEDIATE
Nicholas Thomson, Ansley Gwin, Jennifer Dykes, Francesca Isabelle Moseley, Cory Douglas Litton, John Wilkins, Pierce Elliot Banker, Colin Pitts, Jake Rezner, Hannah Elizabeth Watson, Mary Ruth Vogle, Matthew Preston Lawrence, Anne Warren Barre’, Laney Milham

FAITH ACADEMY
Bradley Taylor Bridges, Gavin Mitchell Williams

FOLEY INTERMEDIATE
William Drake Deisner

GILLIARD ELEMENTARY
Normandi Williams

GULF SHORES ELEMENTARY
Timothy Dakota Vest, Kaeylarae Isadora Glass

HOLLINGER’S ISLAND ELEMENTARY
B.J. Martinez, Sara Clark, Amanda Casey

HUTCHENS ELEMENTARY
Canon Waters, Kourtlyn Harvey, Emily Ritchie

INDIAN SPRINGS ELEMENTARY
Brianna Lewis

KATE-SHEPARD ELEMENTARY
Jakayla Whitfield, Hayley Johnson, Morgan Atkins, Auna Lewis

MARYVALE ELEMENTARY
Demone Beard

MCDAVID-JONES ELEMENTARY
Madelyn Howard

O’ROURKE ELEMENTARY
Hiba Hasan

ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
Lauren Duke, Sarah Till, Reed Miller, Laura Katherine Fisher, Jacob Abshire, Matthew Holland, J.P. Williamson

SWIFT SCHOOL
Nadia A. Johnson, Morgan Hayes

UMS-WRIUGHT PREPARATORY
Robert Milton Hope III, Payton Conner Massey, Jessica Ju

JOHN WILL ELEMENTARY
Julien Gratton, Markell Morrisette, Regi Mose

WILMER ELEMENTARY
Michael Jones

OTHER PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
Orange Beach Elementary, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School, Knollwood Christian School, Semmes Elementary, Saint Bendict School, St. Pius X School, Glendale Elementary, Loxley Elementary, Cottage Hill Baptist School, Calcedeaver Elementary, Dauphin Island Elementary, Bay Minette, Intermediate, Home Schools, Saraland Elementary, and Mary B. Austin Elementary.