Heron haiku contest inspired by great blue heron nest camera
Heron haiku contest inspired by great blue heron nest camera
Winner will receive a birding prize pack from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and Eagle Optics
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin has launched a great blue heron haiku contest for the poetically inclined viewers of the Friends of Horicon Marsh Great Blue Heron Nest Camera, which the Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and others helped fund. The camera started streaming for this year’s nesting season in March and has since reached 35,000 viewers. Horicon Marsh is the site of both a national and state wildlife refuge, a Wetland of International Importance and a Globally Important Bird Area. It’s also home to more than 300 species of birds, including the majestic great blue heron.
“By allowing the public a glimpse into the more secretive world of one of the birds that calls Horicon Marsh home, it is our hope to begin changing people’s attitude toward the importance of wildlife and all the necessary roles they play in a healthy system,” said Leslie Covell Hershberger, executive director of Friends of Horicon Marsh Education & Visitor Center.
Individuals interested in participating in the haiku contest should watch the Friends of the Horicon Marsh Great Blue Heron Nest Camera, take a screen shot and send the image with a related haiku toheron.haiku@wisconservation.org. Limit three entries per person. The Foundation will collect haikus until Friday, April 17, and will then select four finalists, who will receive a one-year membership to the Natural Resources Foundation. The Foundation will post the finalists on its Facebook page for votes. The winner will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, and will win a birding prize pack from the Natural Resources Foundation and Eagle Optics, including a binocular harness, a t-shirt, a Wisconsin State Parks pass and a book and CD version of Birds of Wisconsin.
“The magnificent great blue heron seems like the perfect creatures to inspire poetry,” said Ruth Oppedahl, executive director of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. “We can’t wait to see the kind of creativity, wit and charm the camera viewers bring to this contest.”
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin gave $1,000 through the C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Program to the Friends of Horicon Marsh in support of the live camera. Other donors include the Wisconsin DNR, local schools and donors to the Friends of Horicon Marsh. The Foundation has provided $420,000 to projects in every county in the state since its inception in 1990. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Program.