The City of Santa Monica and Sustainable Works announced the winners of the 18th Annual Sustainable Santa Monica Student Poster Contest on April 30, with 16 winners selected across four grade categories.
This year's theme, "Reducing Emissions While Creating Resilient Communities," educated students and the community about how Santa Monica is reducing carbon emissions and supporting residents in the face of a warming climate. The contest was open to all kindergarten through 12th grade students who live or attend school in Santa Monica.
"As one of the first cities in the nation to create a Sustainable City Plan, Santa Monica is deeply committed to doing our part for the planet while caring for our community," Senior Sustainability Analyst Ariana Vito said. "This year's submissions were an impressive display of the students' understanding of the challenges and the solutions for a better tomorrow. Key themes included our zero emissions Big Blue Buses, riding bikes, driving electric vehicles, and decarbonizing our buildings with solar and clean electricity."
Through 34 presentations at schools and afterschool programs, the city and Sustainable Works educated more than 653 students on sustainability issues, resulting in 400 poster submissions. Judges included representatives from the city of Santa Monica and Sustainable Works.
Grand prize winners are Phoebe Kaiser of Grant Elementary in the K-2nd grade category, Daenerys Smith of Grant Elementary in the 3rd-5th grade category, Eloise Alexopoulos of John Adams Middle School in the 6th-8th grade category, and Mia Patricio-Ramirez of Santa Monica High School in the 9th-12th grade category.
Second-place winners are Reina Bustamante, Juniper Cogswell, Henry Pollock and Graciela Buccioni. Third-place winners are Sophia Berry, Emily Yin, Angelica Huang and Sasha Lu. Honorable mentions went to Beatrice Suchkova, Amelia Chen, Declan Brandenberger and Genesis Buezo.
All winners will be honored at a celebration on Wednesday, May 13, at the Annenberg Community Beach House from 3:45 to 5 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
Winning posters are displayed at the Santa Monica Main Library from April 27 through May 8, and will also be on view at the awards celebration. Other poster submissions will be available for viewing at the celebration.
Edited by SMDP Staff