Poster contest winners announced

The China Lake Association sponsored its fifth annual poster contest for the fifth and sixth graders at China Middle School. They learned about alewives. Until the Dams in Vassalboro were built about 100 years ago, the alewives could naturally swim up the rivers to China Lake and stay for the summer months. In the fall, they swim out of the lake taking with them the phosphorous that fosters algae blooms, to return to the ocean. Alewives were a very important fish for our lake’s balance of nature.

In May, the students went by bus to see the alewives swim up the Webber Pond fish ladder. Nate Gray, a biologist from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Frank Richards, president of the Webber Pond Association, were there to teach the students and answer their questions. After learning about alewives, they were given poster paper to illustrate a theme about alewives. Some of the topics were:  Alewives life cycle, advantages to have alewives in China Lake, alewives migration from the ocean to the lake or how dams are preventing them from coming into China Lake and what we are doing to fix that barrier.  They were free to draw a picture, do poetry, write a slogan or write a story on the poster paper. Completed posters were judged according to the student’s imagination and presentation.

Winner for the fifth grade were: first prize, Lauren Tyler, second prizes went to Maddie Pacholski and Alexis Rancourt, third prizes went to Alivia Gower, Angel Bonilla, Cuden Clark and Reiana Gonzalez.

Winners for the sixth grade were: first prize to Cameron Speck, second prize Madison Lully, third prizes went to Julia Barber,  Emily Clark, Alonzo Michaud, Jacob William Fisher, Mackenzie Roderick and Cailee Elsasser.

Monetary awards will be presented at the China Lake Association’s annual meeting at the China Primary School 9 a.m., Saturday, July 23.