Call For Entries: It’s Time To Build Birdhouses

Ogden - Now in its 23rd year, the Ogden Nature Center announces the 2016 Birdhouse Competition and Exhibit. 

Get out your building tools, supplies and creativity and start building birdhouses.  Entries are due March 21-26 at the Ogden Nature Center, 966 West 12th Street. There is no entry fee. This year, entries will be divided into adults, children (unassisted) and team/family groups. A select jury of professional artists and bird experts will judge the competition and choose winners in several categories such as “best use of materials,” “most imaginative,” “best use of recycled/natural materials,” and “best form/function.”  

Birdhouses selected for the exhibit will be installed and displayed April 9 through June 25. Winners will receive cash prizes at an awards presentation on Thursday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the L.S. Peery Education Building at the Ogden Nature Center. 

Registration forms and full details are also available online at www.ogdennaturecenter.org, or you may fill out an entry form at the visitor services desk at the Ogden Nature Center, 966 West 12th Street.  For more information, please call the Ogden Nature Center at 801-621-7595. 

All types of birdhouses are welcome: whimsical, beautiful, practical, functional, artistic or magical – but they all need to be sturdy! All ages are welcome to enter up to two creations.  Working as a family or as a team, i.e., grandfather/grandson, etc., is acceptable and encouraged. A helpful guide of dimension preferences for certain bird species can be found on the Nature Center’s website at http://www.ogdennaturecenter.org/images/BIRDHOUSE_SIZE_REQUIREMENTS.pdf. 

Guidelines:

• All birdhouses must be original works created by the exhibitor. Commercially produced birdhouses or assembled kits will not be accepted.

• Size limitations: The base of the birdhouse may not exceed 24 square inches.  The height of the actual birdhouse (not including the post) may not exceed 36 inches tall.

• All birdhouses must be freestanding on their own post and ready for installation outdoors. Birdhouses that are not freestanding will not be accepted for the exhibit. You must perch your birdhouse atop a sturdy post or attach a strong hanger.  Posts will be installed at a depth of 1-2 feet, so plan for that extra footage that gets buried in the ground. 

• The Nature Center encourages the use of natural, reclaimed and recycled materials. Please consider the environment when choosing your materials and finishes. Please, no propane tanks this year.

• Please build sturdy birdhouses.  Birdhouses need to last through all seasons outdoors.

• The judges will select which birdhouses are accepted into the 2016 exhibit.  A limited number of entries will be accepted for the exhibit.         

• The Ogden Nature Center reserves the right to refuse submissions. 

 

About the 2016 Judges:

Deb Marin paints a wide variety of subjects in oil with an emphasis on landscapes.  She particularly enjoys painting on location in both northern and southern Utah.  Deb has a bachelor’s degree in art from Southern Utah University. Previous exhibits include Gallery 25, Eccles Art Center, Art at the Main, Bella Muse and Weber County Library.  Deb is also an amateur birder and member of the Wasatch Audubon Society.  

Cara Koolmees’ well-recognized talent and the bold, saturated color of her paintings make her pieces fun to own and enjoyable for all to view. Cara gained her art education from Long Beach State and Cerritos College in California.  She has participated in many Utah shows, art festivals and invitationals, exhibiting locally in many juried shows and judging a number of local Reflections Contests.

Susan Snyder has worked at the Ogden Nature Center as a teacher-naturalist since 2006.  She holds a master’s degree in Ecological Teaching & Learning from Lesley University, is a USEE certified environmental educator, and was the 2011 Vern A. Fridley Utah Environmental Educator of the Year.  In addition to teaching Ogden Nature Center field programs, Susan has led workshops and presentations across Utah and in other states on such topics as illustrated nature journaling, and is the environmental education representative on the GreenWood Charter School’s board of directors. In her spare time, Susan is an avid birder and painter, and has displayed pieces in numerous shows at Eccles Community Art Center in Ogden.

This year’s Birdhouse Competition/Exhibit is sponsored by: Ogden City Arts, Big D Construction, Jeremiah’s restaurant, Ogden Blue, Wasatch Audubon Society, Wild About Birds Nature Center, Shepherd’s Bush, Prairie Schooner, Booth Dental Clinic, Bloom Recyclers, Pat and Glen Richter, and the Robin and Brad Farr Family.