Future stewards of B.C.'s threatened salmon species are showing love for the keystone species through art.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) has announced the winners of its second annual Kids Salmon Art Contest, including two Coquitlam children.
In a release, the organization said the two local youngsters were among hundreds who sent in paintings in the hopes of winning prize packages worth $150.
The local winners included 11-year-old Katie Ly Sin, a Summit Middle School student, won first place in the age 11 – 12 category, and noted in a statement that she took inspiration from a story about the northern lights.
"My art of my salmon painting is to show the difference of how a real life salmon looks and how a First Nations salmon looks like, I got inspiration from a story I read as a kid about, the northern lights and how they were created by flying salmon, my art is also about salmons going back to their birthplace to lay eggs. The salmon in the sky is meant to be good luck to the salmon swimming below, that they will reach their birthplace safely."
Candy Zeng, age 13, also a Summit Middle school student, won first place in the age 13-plus category, for her artworks that depicts the life cycle of salmon.
"I came up with this idea is because I want to show more about salmon on my work, so that’s is why I came up with this life circle thing," Zeng stated.
"This shows how a salmon will grow up."
The PSF's Kids Salmon Art Contest received more than 500 salmon-inspired art submissions from students across B.C. and the Yukon.
The students produced art pieces celebrating the incredible journey of Pacific salmon and raised awareness for declining populations.
The art entries were submitted by children aged four through 17 and bring hope to the future of salmon following the multitude of climate change and habitat loss challenges they’ve faced in recent years.
Michael Meneer, CEO and president of the PSF, said in a statement that the artwork showed a "profound awareness of salmon."
“Seeing salmon through the creative eyes of young artists is such an inspiration and reminder of why we must do everything to help conserve salmon for generations to come," Meneer said.
