FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23, 2011

Hertford County student wins bookmark contest

RALEIGH — Harlee Davis, a sixth-grader at Ahoskie Elementary School, created the winning bookmark in a contest sponsored by the Area 5 Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program.

Harlee received a plaque and $100 for her winning entry in the contest, whose theme was “The Importance of Estuarine Water Quality.” She was awarded the prizes by Charles Davenport, chairman of the Area 5 districts, at the group’s fall meeting in Williamston.

Harlee’s entry — which depicted a sun setting over the estuary and featured birds, turtles and plants — was chosen from 1,063 entries from 11 counties.

APNEP awarded a grant to Area 5 earlier this year to promote education about the importance of the estuary to fifth- and sixth-graders in the region. Students from across Area 5, consisting of the state’s northeastern counties, were provided with educational materials about the importance of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary, the second-largest in the country.

The students learned that the estuary contains critical nursery habitats for fish and shellfish and is important economically to North Carolina by supplying agriculture, forestry and fishery products to the state and country. They also learned the importance of maintaining this nationally recognized estuary’s water quality and natural resource base.

Ten thousand copies of Harlee’s bookmark will be printed and distributed to school and public libraries in northeastern North Carolina. The back of the bookmarks will contain websites that will enable visitors to research additional information about the importance of the state’s estuaries and keeping them healthy.

Jimmy Mason, chairman of the Hertford Soil and Water Conservation District, said, “We’re very excited to have the Hertford County winner of the bookmark contest as the winner of the Area competition, and glad Harlee Davis was recognized.”

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