Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Connecticut Junior Conservation (Duck) Stamp Art Contest

2025 CT Junior Conservation Stamp Art Competition Welcomes Entries through March 15, 2025

Inspiring Youth Conservation Awareness through the Arts

Connecticut Waterfowl Association logo

Calling all creative young artists and art educators in Connecticut! Entries are now being accepted for the 2025 Connecticut Junior Migratory Bird Conservation (Duck) Stamp Art Competition, part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) environmental education program that has been administered since 1987 by the Connecticut Waterfowl Association (CWA).

As part of a concerted effort to encourage more young people to explore the natural world and increase conservation awareness, the Connecticut Junior Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp “Best in Show” winner will be featured as the 2025 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp! The "Best in Show" winner will also be an entry for the Federal Junior Stamp Contest.

This contest is open to all students, kindergarten through grade 12, who are Connecticut residents. To enter, students create and submit a drawing or painting featuring native waterfowl (ducks or geese). The list of eligible species is in the 2024-2025 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Brochure and Contest Rules. There is no cost, and submissions are due by March 15, 2025.

Submitted artwork will be judged in four groups according to grade level, encouraging artists of all ages and ability levels to be inspired and join in the contest’s creative fun and learning. First, second- and third-place entries will be selected from each group, and prizes will be awarded.  A “Best of Show” is selected by the judges from the 12 first-place winners. The “Best of Show”, in addition to being featured on the Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp, is then entered into the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest, which is sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The first place design from the nationwide contest is used to create a national Junior Duck Stamp for the following year. Junior Duck Stamps are sold by the U.S. Postal Service for $5 each. Proceeds support conservation education and provide awards and scholarships for the students, teachers, and schools that participate in the program. 

All work must be postmarked by March 15, 2025, and have a completed entry form. For students in grades 7-12, a reference sheet must also be included to verify the authenticity of the student's work. Forms are listed below.

Individual, as well as whole class submissions, can be sent to (they must be postmarked by March 15, 2025):

CT Junior Stamp Contest
c/o Chris Samor
29 Bowers Hill Road
Oxford, CT 06478

Questions can be directed to Chris at 203-888-0352 or csamor16@att.net or Tom Lewoc Jr. at lewoc09@gmail.com.

The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program is a unique, multidisciplinary curriculum aligned with national science and visual arts education standards. Through art, it teaches students about wetland and waterfowl conservation, migration and land stewardship. It encourages youth to explore their natural world with a new perspective by inviting them to investigate biology and wildlife management and challenging them to express and share what they have learned with others. More information about the USFWS Junior Duck Stamp Conservation Program, including helpful youth and educator guides, is available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.

The Connecticut Waterfowl Association, a non-profit volunteer group created in 1967 dedicated to wetlands and waterfowl conservation, has administered this Program since its beginning in 1987. Its mission is to conserve wetlands and waterfowl in Connecticut, and only in Connecticut. 

 

Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Winner for the 2024 Art Competition  

Painting of a Northern Shoveler by Alice Han which won the 2024 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Congratulations are extended to Storrs resident, Alice Han (age 14), whose beautifully illustrated painting of a Northern Shoveler, which is entitled "In the Fall", was selected as the "Best in Show" for the 2024 Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition and also won first place in the 7th-9th grade age category of the competition. Alice's painting will be featured on the 2025 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp. Most importantly, Alice's acrylic painting represented Connecticut in the recent Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest, where Alice placed in the top 25 in the nation!

Alice Han is a grade 9 student who works with the Lin Lin Art Studio in Glastonbury. From a young age, she displayed an innate interest and talent for art. From watercolor to acrylic, pencil to charcoal, Alice explored different styles and techniques under the guidance of her mentors. She then began participating in many different competitions and stumbled upon the CT Junior Federal Duck Stamp competition—an opportunity to not only showcase her talent but also advocate for the preservation of nature. Inspired by the organization's mission, she spent a month vigorously working on her painting, hoping to be part of this incredible project that is aimed to inspire others to appreciate the world around them. Alice is incredibly honored and grateful to have received this award, and extends her appreciation to the CT Waterfowl Association for giving her and many others this opportunity.

The annual Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition is coordinated and sponsored by the Connecticut Waterfowl Association, in cooperation with the CT DEEP Wildlife Division. The Judges reviewed amazing entries submitted by students in grades K-12 from a number of public/private/magnet school classrooms, private art studios, as well as individual family entries. The participants in every age group put forth a great amount of time and effort to produce some incredible artwork (and conservation messages). Each entry must include a note about how the entrant feels about the species they are depicting and the conservation of nature. Entries were divided into four age groups spanning from kindergarten through high school. Winners in each age group were then judged against each other to determine the overall state winner. The contest is open to all students, kindergarten through grade 12, who are Connecticut residents. To enter, students create and submit a drawing or painting featuring native waterfowl (ducks or geese). There is no cost to participate.

From 2012 to 2020, DEEP held a nationwide artistic contest to select the images for the Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp. However, starting with the 2021 Stamp, the artwork from the winner of the Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest is now featured. This change was made to display artwork from Connecticut artists on the annual stamps, while at the same time encouraging conservation awareness in young people through the Junior Duck Stamp Program. Every student who participates in the Junior Duck Stamp Competition is provided with a limited curriculum on wetland conservation, waterfowl, and nature in general. The program encourages students to explore their natural world, invites them to investigate biology and wildlife management principles, and challenges them to express and share what they have learned with others.

Other Winning Artwork from the 2024 CT Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest

Group 1 (K - 3rd grade; left to right)

Image of three paintings of ducks that placed in Group one of the 2024 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Place Student Species Age Town
1st place  Amelia Luo Canada Goose 9 Glastonbury
2nd place  Avni Kamath Long-tailed Duck 5 South Windsor
3rd place  Evan Sun King Eider 9 Glastonbury

Group 2 (4th - 6th grade; left to right)

Image of three paintings of ducks that placed in Group two of the 2024 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Place Student Species Age Town
1st Place Leona Jia Female Mallard 11 Glastonbury
2nd Place Lucas Shi Merganser 9 Glastonbury
3rd Place Ayla Rehm Wood Duck 10 Woodbridge

Group 3 (7th - 9th grade; right to left)

Image of three paintings of ducks that placed in Group three of the 2024 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Place Student Species Age Town
1st Place Alice Han Northern Shoveler 14 Storrs
2nd Place Sophia Wang Female Wood Duck 12 Glastonbury
3rd Place Ayla Jolly-Ballantine Gadwall 12 Niantic (Barn for Artistic Youth)

Group 4 (10th - 12th grade; left to right)

Image of three paintings of ducks that placed in Group four of the 2024 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Place Student Species Age Town
1st Place Kayla Lin Wood Duck 16 Mansfield
2nd Place Benjamin Bognon Eider 17 New Canaan
3rd Place Caleb Milo Canada Goose 18 Monroe

Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamps can be purchased for $17 wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold or from the Online Outdoor Licensing System under the "Other" category. Starting August 1, 2023, stamps can also be purchased through the online DEEP Store. All proceeds from the sale of stamps fund wetland habitat conservation and enhancement projects. 

How to purchase a CT Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp and/or Print

CT Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp Dollars Deliver Results

Back to main CT Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp webpage

Content last updated in December 2024.