“Wings of Wonder” is the title of the entry that kindergartners from Holy Cross School, Rumson, are submitting in the Monmouth Conservation Foundation’s annual Kids for Conservation Contest.

The annual contest, started in 2013, invites kindergarten and preschool classes to submit a project focused on a particular environmental issue while demonstrating how that issue is addressed in their classrooms, as well.

According to teachers Beverly McDonald and Rosemary Bell, “Wings of Wonder” celebrates the recent removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list. In geography class, the students learned about the bald eagle, namely that it is the national bird for the United States, through their Kindergarten Weekly series, which devoted an issue to the bald eagle, as well as through National Geographic and the We Believe religion text book which focused on the importance of protecting God’s creatures, planet and people in several chapters. The lesson plans provided by the Monmouth Conservation Foundation further enhanced their understanding of the bald eagle.

For their class project, the students and teachers worked together to create a tree that would entice a bald eagle to build a nest. The tree was built from paper, coffee cans and other recycled materials. To symbolize the unique role each student has in protecting the earth, the students, using sheets of paper, made cut-out traces of their hands which were then used to form the tree’s trunk and leaves. The students’ project also included a handcrafted bald eagle.

Judging for the Conservation Contest will be June 4 at 4 p.m. in the Bucks Mill Recreation Area, Colts Neck. The first-place prize is a $1,000 grant.