SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – If the number of entries in the 2023 Growing Works of Art contest is any indication, Vermont students have a deep appreciation for trees, both in their own backyard and local woodlands.
A total of 228 Grade K-8 students submitted a work of art using any medium, and a written story relating to the theme “Branching Out.” For their entry, students were asked to describe a meaningful experience where they have grown, changed, connected, or learned something new because of a tree or trees in their lives.
The Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program sponsored the annual contest in partnership with University of Vermont (UVM) Extension and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Entries were judged half on creativity and originality, and half on how well the student conveyed their story through writing and art. Many of the entries were from schools where the teachers incorporated the contest into their English, art, or science curriculum.
The top entries are posted online at www.go.uvm.edu/growingart. Locally, Springfield homeschool student Carly Stone was named the winner for eighth graders across the state. Carly’s story is as follows:
“MAPLE SYRUP
My great-grandparents had a sugar house and made maple syrup every year. I love maple syrup. I put it on lots of different foods, like pancakes and waffles or maple sugar on muffins that my grandmother makes. But I’m not as much of a fan of maple syrup as my mom and sister. Making maple syrup can be a difficult process and takes a long time. You must boil all the water out of the sap, then it thickens, and then it is ready to be jarred. It can take days to complete this process.
As you probably know, maple syrup comes from maple trees. In Vermont, maple syrup is a huge industry, so it affects many people here because it makes so many different products. You can make maple candy, syrup, cotton candy, ice cream, and barbecue sauce. In short, I created a maple tree to represent Vermont, the place I have grown up in and love.”