Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience art contest

by John Dowd

In addition to their upcoming banquet, the organizers of First Hunt Foundation, Montana Conservation Elders and Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience are always looking to get youth and the outdoors to meet up. To that end, this year the organizations decided to host an ad-hoc art contest they are excited to grow in years to come. 

Even with short notice, the groups received seven entries, all from both Corvallis and Florence school districts. However, the opportunity was open to all schools in the valley, K-12, and with the success of this contest, they hope it will spread as intended. 

The winner of the art contest received $200. Additionally, the student will also win a valuable summer camp scholarship for whichever of the camps sponsored by Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience they choose. The winner could also choose to have their art auctioned off at the 3rd Annual Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience Banquet, which will be held Thursday night, March 13.

The art contest was the first of its kind, but the organizations plan to make it an annual event. Since this was the first, it had a loose theme of “outdoor scenery.” The contest was judged by local professional artists Steve Wilson and Cynthia Fisher. Wilson has been involved with the Victor School Board for nearly 30 years, and is known for his paintings of outdoor scenes and Rocky Mountain landscapes. Fisher has judged the Junior Duck Stamp art contest for several years and is an internationally renowned artist known for her depictions of iconic wildlife. 

When asked what they are looking for, the judges said one of the main things is that these are original works, and not copies from photos. “Imagination, creativity and perspective,” are some other elements Fisher was keeping an eye out for. For Wilson, this is an especially important way to get youth interested in the outdoors. According to him, it can “cause them to see the world in more detail.” Fisher echoed these thoughts, saying that it also pushed these youth to “look at the environments of Montana,” in particular.

The judging was held at the Florence Volunteer Fire Station, which has served as the meeting point for the event and organization coordinators. Even with only seven entries, judges were impressed with the level of work achieved by mostly 13-year-old participants. According to Tom Powers, the final judge and one of the lead organizers of Montana Matters Out Outdoor Experience, it was hard to decide, as everyone was so creative, no matter their ages.

For 2025, the overall winner in first place was Sabrina Weidow, an eighth grader from Corvallis. Second place went to Lily Gardner, also from Corvallis. Finally, third place went to Allana Wellborne in the eleventh grade from Florence. There was an honorable mention, which was given to Reece Olson, who is also in the eleventh grade at Florence.