The Utah Wildlife Federation and mural artist Chris Peterson are holding the first Celebrate Utah Wildlife Contest to encourage people across the state to share the ways in which Utah’s wildlife has inspired them.
“I would also really love to invite people who would not normally consider themselves to be artsy or a writer, but who maybe have a had memorable wildlife encounter in Utah. Tell us that story, voice memo record it, or record a video of you telling the story — that would be an amazing entry,” Peterson said.
Sixty-three cash prizes totaling over $10,000 will be awarded across categories and age groups, with 21 first-place winners receiving a $250 prize. The winning entries will be part of a touring exhibit associated with the Utah Wildlife Walls Project, a statewide initiative to install wildlife murals in each of Utah’s 29 counties.
“The contest is really the promotional way to kick off this Wildlife Walls initiative by inviting Utahns to celebrate wildlife with us,” Peterson said.
Peterson hopes the murals will help tell important conservation stories and inspire conversations about human-wildlife interactions across the state. He encourages anyone who has a unique wildlife story to enter the contest.
“Those are the things that we're trying to collect. It's not just a way to gather work for a traveling show. It's also an attempt to try to take a snapshot of our generation’s relationship to wildlife," Peterson said.
For more information about the contest, visit celebrateutahwildlife.org.
