Four elementary school students won prizes for their outstanding entries in the “Litter Hurts” Earth Day poster contest. The contest was open to all 3rd and 4th grade students in unincorporated Alameda County and is sponsored by the Alameda County Unincorporated Area Clean Water Program.
The top four prize-winning posters, two each from 3rd and 4th grades, will be displayed at the Castro Valley Library through May 28.
To enter the contest, participating teachers held a brief classroom lesson on ways to prevent stormwater pollution to keep creeks, rivers and the bay clean. They also showed a video starring Clean Water Program mascots Fred Frog and Izzy Egret, titled “Litter Hurts, but #YoureTheBest.” Students then creatively expressed what they learned in their artwork.
“Littering is one of several ways that the health of local waterways, in Alameda County’s unincorporated area—such as Castro Valley and San Lorenzo Creeks—is threatened,” says Cynthia Butler, the Clean Water Program representative for unincorporated Alameda County. “Helping kids understand the connection between their neighborhoods, local water and wildlife, can help reduce littering that pollutes the waterways.”
The contest received over 175 creative entries, making the process of picking only four winners very difficult for organizers! Winners received an Owala reusable water bottle and a spiral notebook with the student’s artwork printed on the cover.
Eight classrooms submitted entries from every student and were entered into a raffle. Two classrooms—Mrs. Yee’s 3rd grade class and Ms. Farquhar’s 4th grade class at Jensen Ranch Elementary—were awarded a $100 Amazon gift card each.
For more information, visit www.cleanwaterprogram.org.
