The Kansas Wetlands Education Center announces the winners of the 2015 World Wetlands Day Coloring Contest. Nearly four hundred second graders completed a coloring sheet featuring a Woodhouse’s Toad, a common Barton County amphibian.  
World Wetlands Day is Feb. 2, and is organized by Ramsar, the organization that has designated Cheyenne Bottoms a “Wetland of International Importance.” The theme for 2015’s World Wetlands Day was “Wetlands for Our Future – Join Us!”  
The best coloring sheet from each participating class was chosen, and winners received a certificate, a KWEC tote bag, a poster from Chickadee Checkoff, and a Top 20 Birds of Cheyenne Bottoms card.  
The winners are: GB Lincoln – Brandon Morgan; GB Riley – Mariah Mata, Fernando Alonzo, and Daisy Cruz; GB Eisenhower – Teagan Craven and Hanna Riggs; GB Jefferson – Raiya Redetzke and Ella Krier; GB Park – Diana Piedra and Hector Vasquez; CKCA – Alex Allen; Holy Family – Corbyn Causey and Clarise Snapp; St. Joseph School in Ellinwood – Nathan Patrick Hammeke; Ellinwood Grade School – Mahra Johnston and Layla Baker; Hoisington Roosevelt – Mea Holloway, Aunya Herrera, and MJ Sneath; Central Plains Elementary – Paxton Dody and Kendrick Benavidez.
Great Bend Community Coordinator, Christina Hayes, worked with area businesses to display the coloring sheets from Feb. 2 to Feb. 16: Cornerstone Interiors, Perks Coffee Shop, the Great Bend Tribune, Gambino’s Pizza, OPI, Bauer Computers, P&S Security, Rosewood Furniture Gallery, Heart of Kansas Mercantile, Rana Luna Boutique, and Waters True Value.