WALLACE — A pair of Wallace School District students have been making the most of their time outside from school, receiving high marks in the Idaho Forest Products Commission’s (IFPC) Look to the Forest Photo Contest.

Margot Cotter (fifth grade) and Iliana Lewis (eighth grade) both earned honorable mention awards for their photos.

The contest was open to all Idaho students in the fifth through 12th grades and the students were asked to photograph what they see when they “look to the forest.”

The students were also tasked with explaining their photo through a brief statement along with their photo submission.

Cotter’s photo, the “Shields Creek Waterfall,” looked at her community’s history in relation to how local mines had once relied on natural water supplies, both for their operations and their workers.

“In Idaho, we look to the forest for many resources,” Cotter told the IFPC. “My photo relates to the theme, ‘Look to the Forest,’ because the source of this waterfall is a natural spring. This source was once used as clean drinking water for the Coeur Mine in Osburn, Idaho.”

Each student had to submit their photo along with the names of their teacher (or one of their teachers) and Cotter’s fifth-grade instructor Nichole Farkas wasn’t surprised by this particular student’s participation and honorable mention.

“Margot’s a very creative person,” Farkas said. “She loves flowers and nature and really loves the outdoors. This contest wasn’t school related, but I wasn’t surprised to hear that she had participated.”

Lewis’s photo, captioned — “New life brings new hope,” was a photo that she snapped with a cellphone in her backyard.

“This is a symbol of how much we should cherish every tree,” Lewis said, “and also shows the happening of current and new life.”

According to Lewis’s mom, the contest was something that presented itself after the schools began their soft closure and was a suggestion for something to do by teacher Mrs. (Jeanne-Marie) McPherson.

Each winner received a T-shirt and certificate for their efforts.