Elementary schools take part in contest

The “Ding” Darling Wildlife SocietyFriends of the Refuge reported that annual environmental cartoon contests are a tradition for local elementary schools, honoring the legacy of the J N “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge's namesake, a Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist of the early 20th century

It continued that Hurricane Ian decreased the number of schools this year, but not the quality of entries. Patriot Elementary in Cape Coral and The Sanibel School partici- pated A miracle story: the island school's entries survived the storm and the school's closing for over four months Staff discovered them unharmed when the school reopened in February Congratulations to the winners and participants

∫ Patriot Elementary: Ochun Lopez, first place; Karolina Machado, second place; and Brody Howdyshell, third place

∫ The Sanibel School: Reagan Gould, first place; Grant Maddell, second place; and Sofia Bober, third place