Pickering Animal Services has partnered with Pickering Public Library on the ‘Picturing Pickering Pets’ contest for teens aged 13 to 19.
This contest gives teens an opportunity to share their love for pets in a creative way. Once registered, participants will pick a media of their choice (drawing, painting, pottery, short stories, comic strips, etc.) to visually depict a pet-related story, explained a city statement.
There will be a variety of workshops available for registrants to learn new techniques and skills that can be used for their submissions, it added.
In addition to the artistic component, participants will be invited to visit the animal shelter to learn more about the animals and create enrichment toys for them to enjoy long after their visit. With this content, Pickering Animal Services is able to promote humane values, literacy, animal enrichment, and responsible pet ownership to teens.
“With the recent Covid-related restrictions, it is even more important to provide our teens with an outlet for their creativity,” said Lindsey Narraway, Supervisor, Animal Services. “Sharing animal-related stories helps teens’ emotional awareness, increases their confidence and communication skills, and encourages the empathy necessary to make the world a better place for animals.”
Teens have until February 28 to submit their work. All winners will have their work on display at select locations throughout the city and their pieces professionally published as a permanent collection at the Library.
Visit pickering.ca/teenpetcontest to learn more and register for the contest.