Protect Philadelphia's Hidden Streams Student Art/Video Contest

The Philadelphia Water Departmenti s now accepting entries for its 10th annual art competition, the theme of which is “Protect Philadelphia’s Hidden Streams.” In addition to drawings, students are now invited to submit short video clips depicting polluted rainwater, a leading threat to Philadelphia’s waterways.

 

The deadline for entries is March 20.

 

First-place drawings will be selected from four age categories for use on Earth Day advertisements inside city buses and subway cars. Prizes include framed certificates, a variety of art supplies, and a contest calendar that will also be available for free inside the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. Students in kindergarten through 12th grades are invited to submit drawings.

 

“Last year we received more than 1,700 entries, a record number for our drawing contest,” said Cheryl Jackson, program specialist with the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, a nonprofit that coordinates the contest on behalf of the Philadelphia Water Department. “It’s become so popular, we decided to expand the program to attract older students who might be interested in film more so than drawing.”

 

First-place videos will be posted for public viewing on websites belonging to the Philadelphia Water Department, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and YouTube. Students in sixth through 12th grades are invited to submit video clips, the prizes for which include gift cards up to $100 in value.

 

Every home-school, private-school, and public-school teacher who uses this contest as an assignment will be eligible to win a $25 gift card toward the purchase of art supplies. Children are also welcome to participate independently with their parents’ supervision.

 

Stormwater runoff pollution occurs when rain or melted snow flows over watertight surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, and streets. Rather than naturally soaking into the earth, this runoff picks up debris, chemicals, and other pollutants on its way into storm drains, and then into waterways that we use for swimming, fishing, drinking water and more.

 

Please call Jackson at 800-445-4935, extension 112, to learn more about water pollution or go online to the “Protect Philadelphia’s Hidden Streams” Art Contest webpage.