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Student Art Contest

2024 WATER AWARENESS CALENDAR CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Thank you to the hundreds of K-6th grade students who participated in the 9th Annual Student Art Calendar Contest! This year we had over 1,100 submissions. Your creativity and artistic skills help to educate your friends, family and community about the importance of groundwater and water conservation.

A panel of judges chose 22 winners and one grand prize winner. Winners have their artwork published in the 2024 Water Awareness Calendar and received a $75 Amazon Gift Card, a certificate of achievement, a Water Nerd patch, and other school supply goodies.

The Grand Prize Winner will also have their artwork on the cover of the calendar, which serves as the theme for our annual Groundwater Festival. Thank you to our generous sponsors: CCE Consulting Group, ESA, Dakota Communications, Leal Trejo Attorneys at Law, Tetra Tech, and West Basin Municipal Water District for providing the prizes.

Take a look at the 2024 Water Awareness Calendar and all of this year’s winners below. This year’s topics were Groundwater: The Treasure Beneath Our Feet; Water Nerds are Water Heroes; There’s Life in Every Drop; and How Do You Conserve Water.

To participate in the next contest read the contest rules below and look for an announcement in the summer of 2024 when we will start accepting new submissions.

2024 Water Awareness Calendar
WRD 2024 Water Awareness

Congratulations to our 23 winners! View the full calendar by clicking the link or scrolling through the image gallery at the top of the webpage.

2024 WRD Water Awareness Calendar - Digital.pdf

 

The Annual Water Awareness Calendar

The "Blue Planet" we call home is named for the vast amount of water that covers it. Yet, of all this plentiful liquid, only a fraction is usable as fresh water by humans for drinking, growing, washing, and cooking. In an urban region with 4 million residents and only 14 inches of average annual rainfall, it's a continual challenge to meet the water demands of southern Los Angeles County.

May contain: text

The WRD Water Awareness Calendar helps educate people about the importance of water and the role they can play in water conservation every day by changing their habits at home and at school.

Every year we receive hundreds of submissions and pick 23 winners including 1 grand prize winner. The winners have their artwork published in the calendar and the grand prize winner has their artwork on the cover of the calendar. Winners also receive certificates of recognition, printed copies of the calendar and other fun prizes! All participants receive a certificate of participation and a copy of the calendar which are sent out to their schools. 
 

Full Contest Rules 

Submissions for the 2024 calendar are now closed.

We will accept new submissions in the summer of 2024 in preparation for the 2025 calendar.

 

Read the full contest rules here, or watch the 2-minute video below for a step-by-step list of how to participate.

TO ENTER:

Step 1 - Check your Eligibility

To enter you must be in K-6th grade and reside, or go to school, in the WRD service area of southern Los Angeles County. Please see a map of our service area and a list of the 43 cities we serve by visiting our website.

May on contain: artwork, text, logo
May contain: page, text, chart, and plot

 

Step 2 – Create Your Artwork

It’s difficult for nature to provide the environment and us humans with enough water to live, grow, and stay healthy. That’s why it’s so important that we understand where our water comes from and practice saving water every day. To help us spread the word on water conservation, please choose from the four topics below for your artwork.

Contest Topic Options:

  1. Groundwater: The Treasure Beneath Our Feet
  2. Water Nerds are Water Heroes
  3. There’s Life in Every Drop!
  4. How Do You Conserve Water?
May contain: advertisement, clothing, hat, poster, book, and publication

 

To Win, Your Artwork Must:

  1. Demonstrate the importance of groundwater and/or water conservation.
  2. Be submitted on 8 1/2" x 11" paper in horizontal orientation by November 5, 2023 at 11:59pm 
  3. Include parental consent: Mail-in entries must include a signed Parental Approval Form (En español aquí). Online entries can use the webform for consent instead.

 

May contain: vegetation, plant, label, text, and word

 

Don’t get disqualified!

  • Artwork must be original: no computer-made or copyrighted materials such as superhero characters.
  • If you submit online, keep your original artwork! You will need to send it in by November 30, 2023 if you are selected as a finalist.
  • One entry per student only.


Get inspired!

  • Check out last year’s calendar here.
  • Or see all the winning artwork from previous years below.
  • For lessons on groundwater and water conservation, check out our Eco Kids online activities!

 

Step 3 – Submit Your Artwork and Parental Consent

The deadline for students to enter their artwork is Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 11:59PM. You can submit your artwork and parental approval by mail or online.

May contain: computer hardware, electronics, hardware, monitor, and screen

To Submit Online:

  • Click the button below and complete the webform.
  • Upload a clear photo of your artwork and provide parental consent by clicking the checkbox in the form.
  • Keep your original artwork! If you are selected as a finalist, you'll need to send it in by Nov 30, 2023.
  • SUBMIT ONLINE HERE
     

To Submit by Mail: 

  • Send original artwork and signed parental approval form (PAF) to:
  • Attn: WRD Student Art Conest
    Water Replenishment District 
    4040 Paramount Blvd.
    Lakewood, CA 90712
     

Step 4 – The Judging Panel Selects Finalists & Winners

The judging panel goes through the hundreds of submissions that we receive each year and looks for how well the topic was addressed with creativity, thoughtfulness, and composition. Selected finalists will be contacted in the middle of November.

Selected finalists who submitted their entries using the online form will be required to send their original artwork to WRD by November 30, 2023 to qualify for their prize. So keep your artwork original artwork until then!

Winning submissions that were submitted by mail will be notified in the middle of November too. Only finalists and winners will be contacted.


Step 5 – Winners Announced and Published in the 2024 Water Awareness Calendar

In early January 2024, twenty-three winners of the contest will be announced online, and their artwork will appear in the 2024 Water Awareness Calendar. The Grand Prize Winner will have their artwork published on the cover of the calendar, which serves as the theme for our Annual Groundwater Festival.

Prizes: The 23 winners each will have their artwork published in the 2024 Water Awareness Calendar and receive $75 Amazon Gift Card*, a certificate of achievement, a Water Nerd patch, and other school supply goodies.

*Prizes provided by sponsors

May contain: advertisement, poster, face, head, person, photography, portrait, child, female, girl, accessories, glasses, clothing, t-shirt, bag, handbag, and reading

How to Participate Video

 

 

 

Teacher Grant Program

 WRD is pleased to offer teachers a Water Education Mini Grant Program to support environmental education in their classrooms. Teachers with the most participation in this year’s contest will receive a small grant* to spend on water education materials. (*Grants are provided by our generous Art Contest sponsors.)

May contain: clothing, coat, people, person, adult, female, woman, jacket, male, man, jeans, pants, hat, face, and head
Winning teachers for the 2023 Teacher Grant Program

Past winners are shown above. We thank them for their dedication to environmental education and for engaging their students with water conservation and environmental stewardship opportunities. 
Learn more about Teacher Grants here.

 Contest Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsors who support the Annual Student Art Contest!
We would like to thank our Student Art Contest sponsors for helping support the contest with prizes and materials for the participants of this contest. These gracious sponsors also fund the Student Art Contest Teacher Grant Program that awards the teachers with the highest levels of student participation in the contest with mini-grants.
 

  • CCE Consulting Group
  • ESA - Environmental Science Associates
  • Dakota Communications
  • Leal-Trejo, Attorneys at Law
  • Tetra Tech
  • West Basin Municipal Water District
May contain: advertisement and poster