A young Ucluelet artist is swimming in praise after taking the top spot in the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s third annual Kids Salmon Art Contest.
This year’s competition drew over 300 salmon-inspired art submissions from kids across the province and Yukon ranging from 4 to 17 years old and Mavi Terhune’s submission earned her the top prize in the competition’s ages 8-10 category
“My mom found us lots of salmon art to get ideas from and got us learning water colour,” the 8 year-old Terhune said through the awards’ announcement. “We also checked out last years entries. I did a couple rough drafts and after drawing a salmon I was happy with, went ahead and grabbed a nice sheet of water colour paper. I used birthday candle wax to get some neat textures. It was a lot of fun. I took my time and spent three days on it.”
The Salmon Foundation explained that the creative interpretations submitted for the contest included a diverse range of mediums, like Lego sculptures and drawings, that will help raise awareness of the challenges wild salmon are facing, including climate change and habitat loss, .
“This year’s submissions from kids of all ages depicted the vitality of the salmon life cycle and migration journey, and the profound challenges to salmon survival,” said Foundation president and CEO Michael Meneer, adding that several of the submissions received referenced the impact of wildfires on salmon. “We are immensely thankful to the artists, parents, and teachers who celebrated Pacific salmon through our Kids Art contest. Salmon needs all of us – from every generation – and this contest has shown that the future of salmon stewardship is strong.”