Great Lakes Council has launched the popular primary schools Australia Day e-calendar competition and is inviting all primary school students in the Great Lakes to enter this year.

Entry forms will be available at every school straight after the school holidays and students have until Monday 2 November to hand their entry into their school.

“The e-calendar competition is a Great Lakes Council initiative and has proven to be enormously popular over the years,” said Council’s Media Communications Officer, Ms Melissa Bawden.

Now in its seventh year, the competition attracts around 800 student entries from all 13 primary schools in the Great Lakes.

This year, students are being asked to create a drawing on the theme “Our rivers, lakes and ocean are special because…”.

Ms Bawden said, “Some of the questions we would like students to consider when planning their entries are:

“Why are our clean waterways so important to us in the Great Lakes?  Why are they important to you?  Why do we need clean and healthy waterways?   Are there plants and animals that make them special?  What plants and animals have you seen?  How do you and your family use and enjoy our waterways?  What do you want them to look like when you grow up? How do you think you will enjoy them when you grow up?”

Each school will select 14 winning entries for their very own school e-calendar, which will be placed on the school’s website for free download.

In addition, 14 school finalists from across the Great Lakes are chosen to be included in a region-wide e-calendar, which is published on Council’s website.  These regional winners are invited to the Great Lakes Australia Day ceremony on 26 January 2016 for special recognition.

Every participating school wins a book prize for their Library and the e-calendar for their website.

More information and a copy of the 2015 e-calendar can be found on Council’s website.