2nd Grader Wins Award for Best New Jersey Poster in National Competition

The Garden Club of Little Silver honored second grade student Jake Gasperino on Friday morning at the Point Road School morning assembly.  Jake placed first in all New Jersey second grade students in a poster competition he entered through the Junior Gardening Evergreens club at last year.

The Woodsy Owl/Smokey Bear Poster contest is an annual competition for first through fifth grade students who are invited to demonstrate through original drawings of Smokey Bear or Woodsy Owl their understanding of fire prevention and basic environmental conservation principles.

Woodsy Owl is America’s icon for the conservation of the environment.  Since 1971, Woodsy has helped parents and teachers inspire children to observe, explore, and care for the environment.  He challenges children to “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land!” and to take an active role in caring for the land through recycling, reusing, and reducing waste, planting and caring for trees, using resources wisely, and not littering.

Jake was presented with a certificate by the Little Silver Garden Club President Liz Hanson.  He also received a gift of a new set of markers and a garden club pencil.  “I was a bit nervous about getting my award today but felt really proud and happy too” said Jake.  “I like animals and Smokey the Bear looked like a fun thing to draw” he said of his poster.

“We want to introduce kids to a love of gardens and things you find in the garden.  We give the children a lot of information and they are like sponges.   It’s amazing how much they soak up” said Katharine McCleary who was the chairman of the Evergreens Children’s Garden Club last year.  “Apart from the Woodsy Owl Poster completion, we grow our own aloe plants with the children and even do some floral design.”

The Evergreens Club is open to all second grade students at Little Silver Point Road School.