Thunder Mountain students win duck stamp awards

Published 3:00 am Monday, April 15, 2019

Thunder Mountain High School students swept the major awards at the 2019 Alaska Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

Alain Soltys-Gray’s painting of a harlequin duck won the contest, beating out 340 others. Soltys-Gray, 15, will represent Alaska in the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest, which is held on April 19 in Laurel, Maryland.

Arianna Csech, 17, of Thunder Mountain won Best of Show Conservation Message at the contest with her message, “Ducks are beautiful like art. We need to protect their world art museum.”

The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest is the culmination of a yearlong Junior Duck Stamp conservation program used by educators across the nation.

This year, more than 28,000 students participated in competitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Proceeds from sales of the $5 Junior Duck Stamp support environmental education.

• This is a Juneau Empire report.