Students mixed some red, blue and yellow to paint green messages for county residents to protect the environment and lead healthier lives.
The county Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Solid Waste Services' annual poster contest asked students in kindergarten through high school to put images to the theme "Make a Difference: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!"
"We use the artwork in our newsletters and in our outreach materials and presentations to get the community involved," said Eileen Kao, chief of the department's Waste Reduction and Recycling Section.
From 451 entries, 22 posters were selected as winners. The winning artists and their families were invited to an awards ceremony and dinner at the Executive Office Building in Rockville on May 19.
Although each student used the same theme for his or her poster, there was a wide range of artistic interpretation in the completed projects.
Laura Duenas, 15, a sophomore at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, took second place in the high school category with her poster that encouraged recycling in five different languages.
"I have friends from all over the world," said Duenas, an ESOL student from El Salvador who has lived in the country three years.
Duenas said she does not really like recycling, but she does it because she knows she should. She thinks her poster will inspire her to be better.
"It's so hard, you just want to throw it in the trash but you have to take it out and recycle it," Duenas said. "I think [many] teenagers, because they are lazy, probably feel the same way."
At the age of 8, Amanda Culp, a third-grader at Sherwood Elementary School in Sandy Spring, is completely committed to recycling. Her poster encouraged people to "make a difference" by recycling.
"I am on the Green Team at my school," Amanda said. "We check to see if the lights are turned off in [empty] classrooms. We made something to remind people to turn off lights and we took a quiz on our carbon footprint."
Amanda was awarded first-place honors in the second-third grade division for her poster, which she created in art class. This was her first awards ceremony, and she thought it was "really nice."
The speeches showed that they really care about the earth, Amanda said.
Some of the winners were teams of students who worked in groups of two or three.
Jesse Ngassa, Malek Petit-Homme and Alexis Arevalo, third-graders at Glenallan Elementary School in Silver Spring, won second place in the second-third grade division for their effort. The boys' poster was colorful and specific, picturing many of the things that can be recycled, such as aluminum, plastic, paper, even an old car.
"My friends and I were making pictures for the contest and it took a lot of effort," Malek, 8, said, "We were in second place and I was surprised."
The boys sat with their parents, brothers and sisters, enjoying the celebration.
Another team of second-graders, Jack Berman and Jordan Schneider from Fields Road Elementary School in Gaithersburg, won third place in the second-third grade category.
The 8-year-olds created a poster using the story of "The Three Little Pigs" as their inspiration. Their message read, "Don't be a wolf, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse."
"They actually do art projects with recycled things at home," said Suzanne Berman, Jack's mother.
In all, 28 winners and their families were treated to dinner and awards as part of Recycling Awareness Week, which the county celebrated May 18 through 22. The winning posters were reproduced, laminated and used as placemats on the dining tables. The originals hung along the wall where diners could get a good look at them while waiting in the buffet line.
For their hard work and dedication to recycling, each of the winners received a certificate and a gift card to Michael's arts and crafts store.
"We want to encourage their artistic interests," Kao said. "They so understand the importance of recycling and reducing waste. They get it."
The students also won cash awards ranging from $25 to $100 for their schools to help with their recycling efforts.
And the winners are…
Contest posters are on the Web at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/solidwaste.
