New England Science & Sailing Foundation announced this year’s winning artists for the statewide calendar drawing contest titled “Long Island Sound and Its Watershed: What It Means to Me.” The annual drawing contest is open to all Connecticut students currently in grades K-6.

Ryan Johnson, a third-grader from Cromwell, was named the overall winner. The student’s artwork will be featured on the cover of the 2023 calendar.

A panel of judges chose two winners and two honorable mentions from each grade as this year’s award recipients. The students will be honored in a virtual ceremony this summer. The artwork will also be part of a calendar in 2023

“We are so pleased and so proud with the quality of submissions that come in each year. It really shows students’ understanding of the Sound and how important it is for us to protect it” NESS’s Founder, Spike Lobdell, commented.

Local first-place winners include Avian Garcia (kindergarten, Dr. Charles E. Murphy School), Mira Velasquez (first grade, Preston Veterans Memorial School), Rylee Borkenhagen (first grade, Murphy), Geovanni Panella (second grade, Preston), Avery Force (second grade, Murphy), Grace Douton (third grade, Niantic Center School) and Katniss Li (fourth grade, Murphy).

Local honorable mention winners include Natalie Babcock (kindergarten, Niantic), Kelsey Lemire (kindergarten, Preston), Hanna Santos (Niantic), Sloan Brady (third grade, Preston), Levi Hritz (third grade, Murphy), Charlotte Stewart (fourth grade, Preston) and Elyse Overmoyer (sixth grade, North Stonington Elementary).

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