Clean beaches art contest for kids

Oregon fourth‑ and fifth‑graders: Your painting, drawing or cartoon about keeping beaches and oceans clean can help the environment and win a prize.

Just show how the ocean gets polluted or what to do to protect beaches. The top artist and his or her teacher will get a prize.

Entries must be postmarked and sent to the Oregon Office of Environmental Public Health by 4:30 p.m. May 15.

You can download contest rules and entry forms here, or ask Jennifer Ketterman to send them to you. Call her at 971-673-0431 or e-mail jennifer.a.ketterman@state.or.us.

For the family: Letterboxing

Here is an adventure that will get the whole family outside, exercising body and mind.

Letterboxing is a recreational sport where you use clues to find boxes hidden in your community. Inside the box, you’ll find a notebook to show you’ve been there.
There are thousands of letterboxes hidden in parks and other public places around the country. Look for a list at www.letterboxing.org/, and learn how to enjoy letterboxing without damaging the environment or spoiling someone else’s fun.

You could also try geocaching if you like gadgets. Geocaching was invented here in Portland. It’s similar to letterboxing, except you use a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) device. Find out about geocaching and geocache locations all over the world at www.geocaching.com/.

If you’re more active, try orienteering, a cross‑country walk or run using map and compass. Find out about orienteering from the Columbia River Orienteering Club,www.croc.org. (Orienteering events aren’t free, but are less expensive than most running or walking events.)