Robert Bateman’s National Writing and Art Contest to be Launched on Earth Day
Premier Launch Event to be Held in Ottawa April 22

April 15, 2010 (Ottawa) –This Earth Day, April 22, marks the launch of the 10th annual Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest, a nationwide competition that encourages young people to submit artwork, photography and written work to celebrate the natural world. Launch events will take place at museums, zoos, aquariums and parks across Canada, including the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The Contest is sponsored by Nature Canada (premier sponsor), Wildlife Habitat Canada and Parks Canada.

In Ottawa, Robert Bateman’s son, Alan, and his family will take part in a tree-planting and dedication ceremony in honour of his father, on the grounds of the Canadian Museum of Nature. Thirty students from the Robert Bateman Public School will attend the tree dedication ceremony, and then participate in a sketching exercise with Alan Bateman. They will then tour the museum’s Mammal Gallery.

Robert Bateman launched the Get to Know Contest in 2000 to inspire Canadian youth to get to know their wild neighbors by getting outdoors and actively connecting with nature. Over the last ten years, it has grown into Canada’s largest nature art, writing and photography contest for youth, spreading the key message that caring about biodiversity begins by connecting with nature, which can often happen in our own backyard. By fostering a more active lifestyle and a deeper connection with nature, the contest endeavours to cultivate a generation of healthy, environmentally focused youth.

The theme of the 2010 contest is “Celebrate Biodiversity”, in honour of the International Year of Biodiversity, as declared by the United Nations.

Winners of the 2010 Get to Know Contest will receive prizes, including a one-week stay at the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, where they will be joined by the winners of the US Get to Know Contest. Other prizes include Panasonic digital cameras; art supplies from Opus; books from Scholastic; and the publication of winning art and writing pieces in the 2011 Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest Calendar. One entry will be chosen as the 2011 Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp produced by Wildlife Habitat Canada. Entries can be submitted online atwww.gettoknow.ca, between April 22 and May 28.

Although the tree dedication is not open to the general public, members of the media are invited to attend. The ceremony begins at 9:30 am on the museum’s east grounds. The public is invited to take advantage of the museum’s free admission on Earth Day (April 22) and encouraged to visit the Green Legacy exhibition about the importance of Canada’s native plants before it closes on April 25.

For more information, contact:

Chris Sutton
Communications Director
Nature Canada
613-562-3447 ext. 248
csutton@naturecanada.ca

Pauline Fitchett
Coordinator of Product Management and Communications
Wildlife Habitat Canada
613-722-2090 ext. 222
pfitchett@whc.org

Laura Sutin
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Nature
613-566-4793
lsutin@mus-nature.ca