Sense of Wonder Contest

 Does this sound up your alley?

Intergenerational Poetry, Essay, Photo and Dance Contest
Sponsored by:
US EPA, Generations United, the Rachel Carson Council, Inc. And the Dance Exchange
In 2007, the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s life. She was an American biologist who cared deeply about the natural world around her. In The Sense of Wonder, Ms. Carson wrote “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after the night and spring after the winter.” And it is also important to remember how nature can serve as a source of strength, as she noted with the comment from the book, that, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
To honor this amazing woman, the EPA, Generations United, The Dance Exchange and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., are sponsoring the Third Annual Rachel Carson Intergenerational photo, essay, poetry and dance contest “that best expresses the Sense of Wonder that you feel for the sea, the night sky, forests, birds, wildlife, and all that is beautiful to your eyes.” We want you to share this love of nature with a child and others around you. When we teach our eyes and ears and senses to focus on the wonders of nature, we open ourselves to the wonders around us.
Submissions are due by Wednesday, June 10, 2009. The finalists will be selected by a panel of judges. Then the public will be asked to vote for their favorites in each category: photography, essay, poetry and dance. Entries must be intergenerational projects involving persons from different generations. The winners will be posted on our websites and announced September 2009.

More info:

Entries need to be by a team of at least 2 people from different generations. Teams can be of people who are related or not related to one another.

Dance video entries are not limited to the moving body. You can use live performers and/ or capture movement and change visible in nature: birds landing, trees shaking in a storm, a river flowing…Experienced and first time dancers and video makers are encouraged to participate.