The Louisville Zoo has announced its annual Trashformation student art contest, which invites students of all ages from Kentucky and Southern Indiana to participate. Trashformation is part of the Louisville Zoo’s Party for the Planet: A Month-Long Celebration of the Earth, powered by LG&E and KU Foundation.
The Contest
This year, the contest is focused on pollinators, and students are encouraged to create pollinator-friendly items using natural, found materials like rocks, sticks, leaves, bamboo, and wood. The Zoo suggests that students create items like bat houses, bird feeders, and bee houses, painted or embellished with found or recycled items to showcase their own style. The final projects should be placed in the student’s home garden, neighborhood garden, or school garden to support pollinators in the summer and fall of 2023.
Why Pollinators?
Pollinators are the theme for the contest because they play an important role in the environment by helping flowers reproduce and even provide for humans. Unfortunately, many pollinators are struggling due to habitat loss and pesticides. Through this art contest, the Louisville Zoo hopes to encourage the community to help pollinators by creating pollinator-friendly additions for their own backyards and neighborhoods.
Registration and Judging
Trashformation is open to all public, private, parochial, and homeschool students from preschool through 12th grade. The contest is open to individual students or groups of four or more. Students are asked to register for the program and submit photographs or videos of their art at louisvillezoo.org/trashformation. Registration for the contest is appreciated by Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
Winners will be announced on the Zoo’s social channels on Earth Day, April 22, 2023, and the winning students will be invited to share their projects for display at the Zoo beginning April 30 in the Zoo’s pollinator area near the Butterflies n’ Blooms exhibit.
Party for the Planet
Trashformation is part of the Party for the Planet event, which features special presentations and animal encounters that emphasize the importance of conservation and biodiversity. The month also includes discounts on FunDay Mondays (April 10, 17 and 24) with reduced admission of $7.25 per person. The celebration culminates on Sunday, April 30, with free parking and $5 off Zoo admission (per person), courtesy of LG&E and KU Foundation.
