3/21/19 World Water Day Contest & Celebration

A photo of winning contestants in Grade 3 at Orchard Street E.S., South Burlington, VT, learning about water. Photo by Steven Schmidt, courtesy of LCBP.

World Water Day celebrates the importance of water around the world. It was started by the UN in 1993 and has been going strong for over 25 years, with global events including rallies, art exhibitions, scientific presentations, and community gatherings. Each year explores a different theme relating to water quality; this year’s theme is “Leaving no one behind” by supporting human rights and refugees.

Here in the Lake Champlain watershed we will be celebrating World Water Day on March 21, 2019 with a K-12 student contest! The contest will be hosted at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington, VT by the Lake Champlain Committee, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and other partners of the Champlain Basin Education Initiative. All student submissions of original art, videos, photography, and writing will be gathered for public viewing from 4:00 – 6:30 PM, awards will be given to winning submissions, and guest speaker Dr. Danielle Garneau will present on “Plastics in Lake Champlain: How you can help”. 

Dr. Danielle Garneau is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at SUNY Plattsburgh. She specializes in wildlife ecology, and her research focuses on a variety of topics ranging from roadkill mapping to surveying microplastics. Her microplastics research began as a collaboration with Dr. Sherri Mason of SUNY Fredonia, which involved collecting and analyzing effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to identify microplastics entering Lake Champlain. Working in partnership with Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Dr. Garneau is helping to quantify and map distributions of microplastics in the lake's zooplankton populations, and identify their sources.   

All K-12 students in the Champlain watershed are welcome to submit their work to the contest! Contest submissions are due by February 21, 2019, at 4:00 PM, in order to be reviewed in time for the event. 

How the contest works:

Submissions can be made in any of the following four categories:

  1. Celebrate Water
  2. Spread the Word
  3. Citizens Science and Civic Action
  4. Act Locally Think Globally

Once you've chosen your category, pick your presentation format:

  1. Writing
  2. Art
  3. Videography
  4. Photography

Click here for complete submission rules.  

Here's what you need to know to enter:

  • The contest is open to all K-12 students in the Lake Champlain watershed. 
  • Submissions must be made as a class or student group, although the group can consist of any number of students. 
  • Each group or class can submit a maximum of 3 entries. 
  • All entries must be about water. 
  • Entries must be received no later than 4:00 PM on Thursday, February 21, 2019.
  • Email Stephanie Larkin at slarkin@lcbp.org with any questions.

Full contest details and rules can be found on the LCC event posting. Get inspired by the gallery of past projects, including a partnership between J.J. Flynn Elementary School in Burlington, VT and the Generator Makerspace to introduce students to the art of wood mosaic!

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