Coast Day Essay Contest asks students how they make the most of their coast

Entries for the 2010 Coast Day Essay Contest, which is open to any fifth grader in Delaware, are being accepted until Monday, Sept. 20. The theme for this year's contest is “Making the Most of Your Coast.” The contest is designed to spark students’ interest in marine environments while teaching them how to research a topic and use that information to write an essay in their own words.

Contest winners will receive prizes and recognition at this year's Coast Day, which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, Del.

The top three winning essayists will receive bookstore gift cards valued at $100 for first prize, $75 for second prize, and $50 for third prize. The teachers of the winning students will receive gift cards for resource materials for use in their classrooms. The winners and their teachers also will be recognized at Coast Day and through news releases to the media.

“The contest really gives children a chance to showcase their talents,” said Marilyn Vallejo, fifth-grade teacher at St. Ann School, in Wilmington, Del. Her student, Sam Schubert, won top prize last year for his essay on the theme of “Facing Climate Change in Delaware.”

“It allows students with different talents to succeed,” Vallejo said. “The contest lets them be creative and at the same time builds their awareness for the unique treasures we have here in Delaware. As a teacher, I can make an entire unit from it, because it ties in science, geography, research, and writing skills.”

Coast Day, an annual educational festival and showcase for Delaware's rich marine resources, is held every year on the first Sunday in October at the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. Coast Day is sponsored by UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, with support from Gamesa Corporation, Bluewater Wind LLC, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, OSG Ship Management Inc., PNC Bank, UTEC Survey Inc., and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Free to the public, Coast Day attracts more than 10,000 visitors and has won state and national awards for its efforts to promote environmental education and stewardship.

The essays, which will be considered only if they are postmarked by Sept. 20 and are under 400 words in length, should be sent to:

Coast Day Essay Contest
Univ. of Delaware – Marine Public Education Office
222 South Chapel St., Room 103
Newark, DE 19716-3530

For a complete list of Coast Day Essay Contest rules and topic resources, and to learn more about Coast Day, visit www.decoastday.org.

For more information, contact Lisa Tossey at 302-831-8175 or tossey@udel.edu.