Public Service Announcement Competition
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Bear
Management Program proudly announces and congratulates the
following winners of the Florida Black Bear Public
Service Announcement Contest
Statewide and Northwest Region winner
"Be Bear
Aware" by Justin Burt, Lawton Chiles High School,
Tallahassee
Florida high school students were asked to create a short PSA
video to raise awareness and educate the public on black bear
issues they think people need to know. FWC received 17 entries from
10 schools, with over 90 students participating in the competition.
FWC Community Relations staff, located throughout the state, judged
the videos using criteria such as Audience Appeal, Creativity, and
Relevance to Black Bear Awareness. Winning videos were chosen from
each of FWC's five regions, and a Statewide winner was selected
from that group.
North Central Region winner
"Black
Bears: Do you know what to look for?"
Williston High School's Agricultural Sales Class, Williston
Northeast Region winner
"Bear
Safe"
Mr. Krysalka's Belleview High School students', Belleview
Southwest Region winner
"Bear
Safety"
Mr. Stedman's Lakewood Ranch High School's Media Class,
Bradenton
South Region winner
"A Bear's
Perspective"
Mr. Dockery's South Tech Academy 1st Period class, Boynton
Beach
Additional video entries may be released on FWC's YouTube channel
at a later date.
Purpose of the Competition
This contest is designed to allow students to utilize their
creative skills while raising awareness on a significant issue in
their local community: black bear management. With increasing human
and bear populations in Florida, it is imperative the public become
more familiar with the nature of black bears and ways to avoid
conflicts. Unfortunately, black bears are largely misunderstood due
to Hollywood's use of its cousin, the grizzly bear. In general
there are many misconceptions and a lack of knowledge among
Floridians regarding how to react to and more importantly deter
black bears from their properties. Public Service Announcements are
a great way to quickly and efficiently relay helpful information to
the public they may otherwise never investigate.
FWC has been educating the public and raising awareness in
numerous ways to help the public coexist with the Florida black
bear. We are looking for a fresh take on our messages and believe
high school students hold a powerful perspective.
With your help we can reduce misconceptions about bears and
human-bear conflicts.
Entry
Requirements
- Who? All Florida High School
students may submit a video through their school, with a maximum of
up to 3 submissions per high school. This includes classrooms,
clubs, or any student attending a Florida High School from grades
9-12.
- What? A Public Service
Announcement video up to 1 minute in length and submission
form.
- When? All submissions must be
received by FWC no later than November 18, 2011.
Winners will be announced December 16, 2011.
- Where to Submit?
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Bear Management Program
620 South Meridian Street, 6A
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600
- All entries must be an original work.
- You may only use information from the FWC materials listed
below:
Materials
You May Use
Pay Special Attention to:
Prizes!
There will be 5 regional winners. The regional winners will
compete to be the statewide winner. The 5 regional winners
correspond to the 5 FWC designated regions.
The winning PSAs will be displayed on MyFWC.com,
YouTube.com/MyFWCvideos, and submitted to local and regional
television stations for possible airtime. KEEP IN MIND: Your work
being aired on television and a state agency website will look
fantastic on college resumes.
Plaques and gift cards will also be awarded
based on 1st and Regional-Status Winners! Also, keep
checking back on the website because more prizes may be
announced!
Choosing a
Winner
Once the deadline has passed submitted entries will be judged by
a selected panel of FWC Bear Management Program personnel and the
FWC Public Information Coordinator's Department.
Be creative! Your public service announcement should be aimed at
creating awareness about black bears, providing information about
the bears, and persuading your audience to a call to action so your
community can live harmoniously with the Florida black bear.
When you search for your topic, notice FWC's word choices and
imagery. We don't want to instill fear in the community, however we
do want to educate them.
- Avoid using words like kill and attack, or
absolutes like always or never.
- Make sure you have only one message stated simply and
clearly.
- Your words and images should be appropriate and convey the same
message.
- We want you to be innovative and original, so spend some time
brainstorming how you want to get your message across. The PSA
should grab the audience's attention and engage them so they want
to learn. Keep it educational, yet exciting.
If you have any further Questions you may email us
at BearContest@MyFWC.com
.
Persons with Disabilities