Mattamuskeet Elementary School fifth-grader Juan Galena Rajas created the winning bookmark in a recent contest sponsored by the Hyde Soil and Water Conservation District.

Rajas and other fifth-grade students from Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke schools designed bookmarks based on this theme: the importance of estuaries.

Ingrid Contreras from Ocracoke School took second place, and Bernard Johnson from Mattamuskeet Elementary School took third place. All were awarded cash prizes provided by the district. Materials for the contest were made possible through a grant from the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program.

The grant states the goal of the bookmark contest is to provide a fun, creative way to learn about estuaries, their importance and the significant role they play in northeastern North Carolina. The bookmarks will be available in eastern North Carolina public libraries during 2012.

The Hyde County Soil and Water Conservation District is one of 16 counties in the Area 5 Soil and Water Conservation Districts.