We received over 200 entries for the Duckey Eco-Essay Contest and are excited to announce the winner. Congratulations to Phillip Pinarksi, a sixth grader at St. Ann School in Bartlett, Tennessee. His character, a blind catfish named Calvin, will be featured as one of the new Ocean Protectors in the next book. The judges were blown away by Phillip’s creativity and sensitivity of the character he created. Calvin’s willpower and strength despite his disability fits right in with the team’s motto: Believe it. Achieve it!

Also, a big congratulation goes out to the honorable mentions and finalists:

Finalists –
Shayla Gaffney: Caylie Crab; St. Ann School, Bartlett, TN
Robert Lawson: Shortfin Mako; St. Ann School, Bartlett, TN
Katrina Ung and Melissa Ball: Kamele Kame & Conan; Jaffrey Rindge Middle School, Jaffrey, NH
Nick Owens: Oarfish; St. Ann School, Bartlett, TN
Robert Harris: Terrance the Sea Turtle; St. Ann School, Bartlett, TN

Honorable Mentions -
Andres Salas:  Driag Koah (sea dragon); St. Ann School, Bartlett, TN

Special Youth Award –
Stephanie Yoshida, age 6: Crab; Hokolani Elementary School, Honolulu, HI

Click here to read the winning entries.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Duckey Eco-Essay Contest. We received so many wonderful entries and were blown away by the creativity! From polar bears to krill to clownfish. From super digging to laser beams to telekinesis. There were so many interesting characters and inventive superpowers! Your thoughts on why it’s important to save the world’s oceans and environments were amazing to read. I’m glad so many of you recognize that the world needs our help! We will be announcing the winner and finalists within the next week so stay tuned!

Calling all Junior Ocean Protectors! We’re still waiting for your entry for the Duckey Eco-Essay Contest! Send us in your essay and you could have a character named after you in Duckey’s next adventure AND have your name featured as a contributing writer. How cool! It’s really simple to participate so what are you waiting for? In 250 words or less, tell us:

1. Why it’s important to save the world’s oceans and environments
2. What kind of creature you would be if you were an Ocean Protector and the one special power you would have – like Kilo’s strength, Polly’s powerful puffing, and Denise’s whirlwinds.

But you need to hurry because the deadline is May 31st. So check out the details and get  writing!

We’ve been receiving hundreds of creative entries for the Duckey Eco-Essay Contest. It’s great to read all this creative thinking from youngsters around the country, but we’re still waiting for yours! In 250 words or less, tell us:

1)    Why it’s important to save the world’s oceans and environments
2)    What kind of creature you would be if you were an Ocean Protector and the one special power you would have – like Kilo’s strength, Polly’s powerful puffing, and Denise’s whirlwinds.

If your essay is chosen, we’ll include your character – named after YOU – in the next adventure of Duckey and the Ocean Protectors. And your name will be featured as a contributing writer! How cool! So send us your essay by May 31st, and who knows? You could become a part of Duckey’s next exciting adventure! Click here to get all the details.

We’ve been getting great early reviews on”Duckey and the Ocean Protectors” and now the Duckey Eco-Essay Contest is listed on the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), a website that holds a wealth of Earth information and learning tools for students and teachers. The contest is listed on their News and Opportunities section, right above a NASA entry! This is a thrilling opportunity, not only because it will allow more kids to participate in the contest, but also because the listing will help get more kids interested and involved in saving our oceans. Click here for more information about the Eco-Essay Contest and how you can participate.

Duckey and his pals are calling on you to help write his next book! Entries are already pouring in for the Youth Eco-Essay Contest so put your thinking cap on, sit down to your keyboard (or a clean sheet of paper), and start writing. We want to know why you think it’s important to save the planet. Then, the second part of the contest challenges you to create your own Ocean Protector – and the winning entry will be in the next book and you’ll be a contributing writer! You’ll need to check out all the details on the website and the deadline for submissions is May 31, 2009. Be creative. Let your imagination run wild! We won’t even say “the sky’s the limit here” because there is no limit to what you can do – and we can do as a team! Believe it! Achieve it!