Brynn Wentz and Tiffany Belletiere were two of five state winners of the 2011 National Association of Conservation Districts Poster Contest. Their entries will now move on to the national level with judging to take place in early February.

The two won the Carbon County Conservation District competition last spring with their poster entries depicting the theme, "Forests for People: More Than You Can Imagine!"Brynn, 6, who likes to draw people, was very excited when her mother told her about the contest. Her poster is a drawing of her family planting trees."I'm happy," said Brynn on winning the state level contest. Brynn enjoys planting seedlings every year on Earth Day. She plans to save any prize money she may win to purchase more art supplies.Brynn is a first-grade student at Franklin Elementary School. She is the daughter of Chris and Deanna Wentz and the sister of Ashton Wentz, 3.Tiffany, 18, is currently a student at Penn State, Hazleton Campus. At the time of the county-level contest, she was a senior at Weatherly Area High School.In high school she spent much of her free time in the art room. For her senior project, she painted the set for her high school play. Tiffany credits her "great" art teacher, Denise Stadnik, for inspiring her in her art classes.Tiffany was "really excited and a little surprised" to win the state contest. Her drawing featured a silhouetted face with various forest creatures and flowers in flowing hair.Upon graduation from college, Tiffany hopes to be able to somehow incorporate art into her career.Tiffany is the daughter of Walter and Lisa Zlomsowitch of Weatherly and of the late James Belletiere.Mary Ann Warren, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts commended the winners in a recent press release."Pennsylvania's young people are the future of our environmental protection and conservation," said Warren."We must continue to engage our children to understand the importance of conservation and this project allows the next generation to promote our natural resources through personal experience."The NACD poster contest is held annually and is open to students in grades K-12.The contest gives children a chance to think about the importance of conserving our natural resources and allows them to express their thoughts and feelings on the subject through the medium of art.The posters are judged on how well the conservation message is presented, originality, visual effectiveness and universal appeal with regard to grade level."We congratulate both of these winners and wish them luck on the national level competition," Warren added."You have made Pennsylvania, your communities and families proud."PACD will forward the winning posters to NACD for judging at the national level.For more information, visit

www.pacd.org.