March 2, 2006

ROBERT BATEMAN CONTEST LAUNCHED AT THE VANCOUVER AQUARIUM

Vancouver, BC- The 7th annual Robert Bateman Writing and Art Contest launched today at the Vancouver Aquarium with a lively painting tutorial from local artist 'Rogest' with Grades 5/ 6 students from Richmond attending the Aquarium’s Chevron Aqua School. Our red-tailed hawk, Rudy, also flew in for a visit.

The contest encourages youth to make connections with their wildlife neighbours and become involved in protecting the future of our planet. Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman believes that caring begins with knowing and we need to experience nature.

First launched at the Aquarium in 2000, the contest has attracted hundreds of thousands of entries over the years from youth of all ages. This year's art contest invites youth to depict the wildlife they observe in their own backyards. With an eye on sustainability, the writing portion of the contest asks youth to describe in 40 words or less their vision for the future of the Earth and its creatures, along with what they can do to ensure that future is possible. Writing entries will be submitted to Simon Fraser University to research trends on youth awareness about sustainability.

The winning artwork will be selected for the Robert Bateman Contest calendar and will also be featured in the TD Bank Special Edition calendar. Winners will be selected in May and invited to attend a congratulations ceremony on June 9th in Kelowna, B.C.

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For further information, please contact:

Brenda Jones, Manager, Public Relations

publicrelations@vanaqua.org