Artwork of 8 County Pupils Featured on State Forest Fire Service’s Honor to Smokey Bear

TRENTON – The artwork of eight Cape May County students will be featured on free calendars that highlight the importance of wildfire prevention and celebrate the 75th anniversary of Smokey Bear. Three others earned honor mention.
The calendars are available to the public, the Department of Environmental Protection announced in a release.
Roxanne Campbell from Middle Township Elementary No. 2 will have her work on February.
Kiera Collins, also of Elementary No. 2, will be featured in May.
The work of Camila Lopez from Crest Memorial School will be in June.
Graham Curley of West Cape May Elementary will be featured in July.
Fiona Hardin, of Middle Township Elementary No. 1 will have the September honor.
Three Middle Township Elementary pupils were awarded honorable mention. They were: Seth Migliaccio, Matthew Chin, Zoe Peterman.
Approximately 200 children from public and private schools across the state submitted entries for a calendar contest with a dual theme of celebrating the 75th anniversary of Smokey Bear and calling attention to the importance of wildfire prevention.
Although Smokey’s officially recognized anniversary is in August, the traditional start of wildfire season in New Jersey begins in April.
The Forest Fire Service commenced the contest in October 2018 to coincide with New Jersey’s designated fire prevention week.
“The Forest Fire Service is essential to protecting lives, property and natural resources in New Jersey,” stated Ray Bukowski, assistant commissioner for Natural and Historic Resources. “By engaging children in the important campaign of wildfire prevention, Smokey Bear’s message reaches yet another generation and again reminds all of us what we can do to protect our communities.”
Each page of the calendar features the winning artist’s picture, name, grade and school, as well as a tip themed to the type of wildfire issue during a specific month, such as fireworks or campfires during the summer. A U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service grant funded production of the calendar.
“The 2019 calendar is a great way to remind everyone that awareness and prevention are critical to the safety and protection of life and property,” stated Gregory S. McLaughlin, New Jersey state fire warden. “People start most wildfires, either accidentally or intentionally. We encourage the public to pick up a calendar and see the great job that New Jersey’s schoolchildren did in capturing the important message of how to prevent wildfires.”
A committee of fire wardens from the Forest Fire Service’s northern, central and southern regional offices and other Forest Fire Service staff judged the contest entries without knowing the names or schools of the artists. They chose a grand prize winner, 12 winning entries for each month of the calendar, and six honorable mention winners.
The Forest Fire Service provided a certificate to each winner and an allotment of calendars to their schools for distribution. Smokey Bear, accompanied by a Forest Fire Service fire warden, will visit each of those schools.
Other winning artists are Yuni Banyai of Berlin Community School (January); Soyoon Ahn of Berlin Community School (March; also Grand Prize Winner); Zachary David II of Berlin Community School (April); Iman Hussain of Noor UI-Iman School (August); Jayden Ekweony of Franklin Elementary School (October); Winnie Banyai of Berlin Community School (November); and Alice Pagan of Dr. William Mennies Elementary School (December).
Other honorable mention winners were Alex Leora of Warren E. Sooy Elementary School, Geneva Blight of Eagleswood Elementary School,  and Edwin Silva of Dr. John H. Winslow Elementary School.
The 2019 calendars may be downloaded from www.njwildfire.org or may be picked up at any of the Forest Fire Service’s three division offices. The closest is: Division C Office: 5555 Atlantic Avenue, Mays Landing, Atlantic County.
Supplies of the printed calendar are limited and are available first-come, first-served.
Smokey Bear and his catchphrase, “Only YOU can prevent wildfires,” is the longest-running public service campaign in U.S. history. Created in 1944, Smokey Bear has educated generations of Americans about their role in preventing fires. The campaign is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council.
Smokey Bear’s public awareness campaign has evolved over the years from focusing on prevention of forest fires to prevention of wildfires, due in part to significant outbreaks of wildfires in natural areas other than forests. The current message also clarifies the difference between prevention of unwanted and unplanned outdoor fires versus prescribed burns, which are intentionally set by firefighters to burn away materials that could accelerate a wildfire.