Agriculture Announces Winners Of Student Spotted Lanternfly Calendar Contest

On January 8, a drawing of the Spotted Lanternfly titled “Lousy Lanternflies” by Bella Santos, an eighth-grader at Governor Mifflin Middle School in Berks County, has been named the grand prize winner of the Spotted Lanternfly Calendar Contest organized by the Department of Agriculture.

Selected among 700 entries, this and the other winning drawings are featured on the cover and inside of the 2019 calendar produced by the Department of Agriculture and made available for free at this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show.

“These calendars are a creative way to remind ourselves of the year-round need for vigilance in fighting the Spotted Lanternfly. Students across the state took the time to use their talents to bring awareness to the threat the Spotted Lanternfly poses,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “The winners represent a phenomenal cross-section of the entries received. We thank all of the students who entered, and for their teachers for encouraging them to use their creativity for good.”

The other winners featured in the calendar include--

-- Miriam Buchanan, grade 2, Alloway Creek Elementary, Littlestown (Adams) 1st in grades 1-2

-- Hudson McKain, grade 3, Moore Elementary, Bath (Northampton) 1st in grades 3-4

-- Elijah Barsoum, grade 5, Reiffton School, Reading (Berks) – 1st in grades 5-6

-- Austin Carson, grade 1, Lampeter Elementary, Lancaster (Lancaster) 2nd in grades 1-2

-- Gabrielle Kraatz, grade 4, Penn Bernville Elementary, Bernville (Berks) – 2nd in grades 3-4

-- Nicole Cassell, grade 6, Ephrata Mennonite, Ephrata (Lancaster) – 2nd in grades 5-6

-- Direla Dedic, grade 8, Wilson Middle, Carlisle (Cumberland) – 2nd in grades 7-8

-- Layna Brothers, grade 2, Home Schooled – 3rd in grades 1-2

-- Abigail Fickley, grade 4, Moore Elementary, Bath (Northampton) – 3rd in grades 3-4

-- Audrey Wieand, grade 5, Lampeter Elementary, Lancaster (Lancaster) – 3rd in grades 5-6

-- Alina Hernandez, grade 7, Upper Merion Middle, King of Prussia (Montgomery) – 3rd in grades 7-8

The contest was open to students in grades 1 through 8, and entries were evaluated on creativity and effectively communicating the ways Pennsylvanians can identify and help eliminate Spotted Lanternfly.

Find out more about Spotted Lanternfly, visit Agriculture’s Spotted Lanternfly, the USDA Lanternfly and the Penn State Extension webpages.

(Photo: Grand Prize Winner “Lousy Lanternflies” by Bella Santos, an eighth-grader at Governor Mifflin Middle School in Berks County.)