|
| |
 Are you “Smarter than the Average Bear?” Try your hand at designing a way to keep bears out of people’s garbage. The top three designers will win $100 gift cards from Lowe’s and be recognized on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Web site. The contest will be part of this year’s Florida Black Bear Festival in Umatilla on March 27, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Most bear conflicts in Florida result from bears coming into people’s yards to eat garbage. The best way to keep bears out of your yard is to have bear-proof residential garbage cans. At this time, bear-proof cans are available only for residents in Wakulla and Franklin counties. Until every county has access to bear-proof cans, the FWC wants to provide residents with cost-effective methods to exclude bears from their existing garbage cans.
1. Contest Rules
-
Designs must secure a standard 95-gallon-capacity, rolling garbage can.
-
Designs must completely prevent bears from accessing garbage.
-
Designs may involve attaching materials to the garbage can or creating an enclosure for the garbage can. REMEMBER, you must ask your waste service company for permission before you modify your garbage can.
-
Waste company providers must be able to service the can within five seconds.
-
Total design cost may be up to $150, however, the more affordable the design, the better its chance of winning.
-
Electric fencing or chemical deterrents, such as ammonia, bleach or pepper spray will NOT be accepted as a way to deter bears.
2. Submissions
- All designs submitted to the contest will become public information.
- Provide your name and contact information along with detailed instructions for building or installing, and include a list of materials with costs.
- Drop off your design from 8-10 a.m. on March 27, behind the firehouse on East Lake Street. Entries will be taken to a judging area from this location.
3. Eligibility and Limitations
- There is no age limit.
- Contestants may submit as many designs as they want.
- Contestants must be present at 3:30 p.m. to be eligible as finalists.
4. Judging
- Designs will be judged by a five-member panel.
- Judging will begin at noon.
- The panel will rank designs based on ease of use and installation, cost-efficiency and predicted performance with bears.
- The panel will announce up to six finalists at 3:30 p.m.
- All contestants must pick up their designs from 4-5 p.m.
- Designs from finalists will be reconstructed by FWC staff and tested on captive black bears in Tallahassee.
- All finalists will be contacted with testing results, and the top three designers will be awarded prizes.
|
|
