The 2024 recertification pin, earned by previously certified VMN volunteers who complete at least 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved continuing education during 2023, will be an image of one of two possible vines - poison ivy and Virginia-creeper. We chose these two species because of their widespread and ubiquitous occurrence across Virginia, because of their high value to wildlife species, and because we have not yet had a pin featuring a vine! Which of the two plants it will be and the artwork for the pin will be determined through an artwork contest. VMN volunteers are invited to submit their own artwork according to the guidelines below. The winning artwork will be selected by a team of judges that will include the VMN program staff and experts from our sponsoring agencies.
Contest Guidelines
To Submit Your Artwork for the Contest
If you want to submit your artwork for the contest, please complete the online contest survey no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, August 18. You will be asked to provide your name, email, VMN chapter, and your permission to use the artwork. Have your digital artwork file ready; you will be need to upload it within the survey.
Contest Guidelines
- The artwork must be original artwork created and submitted by a currently enrolled VMN volunteer.
- Please limit submissions to one submission per volunteer. The volunteer may choose which of the two plants to illustrate.
- The artwork may be a drawing, painting, or photograph, but it must be submitted as a digital file, such as a PDF, JPG, PNG, or GIF file.
- The artwork must be of either poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) or Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).
- We tend to prefer artwork that allows us to create a pin in the shape of the plant, rather than having to be an oval or rectangular pin. Keep this preference in mind when creating your artwork, and imagine a pin cut in the shape of the image. Pins cannot easily have very finely detailed edges, so it is helpful if the image outline is a smoother line. See the dogwood image on our recertification pin artwork history page as an example of botanical artwork that was easily converted to a pin.
To Submit Your Artwork for the Contest
If you want to submit your artwork for the contest, please complete the online contest survey no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, August 18. You will be asked to provide your name, email, VMN chapter, and your permission to use the artwork. Have your digital artwork file ready; you will be need to upload it within the survey.
