Updated: Aug 8, 2022

With the first day of school set for early August, the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District Summer Poster Contest for school-aged children continues to run its course, with an entry deadline set for Friday, Sept. 30. (Please note: This is an updated deadline.)

Summer itself officially ends with the first day of fall, Sept. 22, which means just around the corner is the start of the 2022 Hillsborough County Fair, which is where the summer poster contest entries will be on display. The fair at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover is set to run Nov. 3-13.

The good news is that every summer poster contest entrant will receive a free ticket to the fair, as well a certificate of appreciation suitable for framing that includes an image of the entrant’s poster artwork. Moreover, there is a chance to win cash prizes, awarded to first- second and third-place finishers in each of five grade categories. See Contest Overview and Entry Form below:

The contest is open to students in kindergarten through grade 8. This year’s theme, “Our Perfect Pollinators,” can be interpreted as each entrant sees fit, with bees, birds, bats and butterflies among the options they can consider in creating their own masterpieces.

The poster contest is in line with a two-year initiative launched by the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District in conjunction with Rotary Club of Brandon Global Eco, and Rotary International’s Operation Pollination initiative.

Operation Pollination is open to individuals, families, schools, businesses, civic and youth groups, nonprofits and government entities seeking to create, develop and execute community-based projects of their own. HSWCD invites people to do so as well as an “action awareness project” through its Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge, which in April kicked off its fifth year.

For more, contact Betty Jo Tompkins, executive director, Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District, at 813-477-8332. Email bjt6890@yahoo.com.