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Just in time for Earth Day, River of Words (ROW) announced the winners of their annual Environmental Poetry and Art Contest at an awards ceremony held at the San Francisco Library on Saturday.
Since 1995, ROW has sponsored the contest, which is open to US children from ages 5 to 19. One international winner is also selected (see the slideshow below for some examples of these startlingly talented artists.)
Co-founded by writer Pamela Michael and former US Poet Laureate Robert Hass, ROW works year round with teachers, educators, and artists. Their goal is to encourage students to create art through words and paintings on the theme of watersheds.
Most kids have only a vague idea where their food and water come from. Garbage gets carted away in trashcans; water magically disappears down toilets, sewers, and kitchen sinks. Many rarely experience the natural world outside concrete and artificial light, as carefully crafted media images imprint growing brains with the spiritual sustenance of a MacDonald’s hamburger patty.
“Few American schoolchildren can name more than a handful of the plants or birds in their own neighborhoods, yet studies have shown the average child can identify over one thousand corporate logos.” ROW
On Saturday at the national contest awards ceremony at the San Francisco Library, Michael explained the contest format: “We pick eight Grand Prize winners in four different categories depending on age. There are four awards in art and four in poetry.”
Categories are broken down by grade level: I -- Kindergarten to 2nd grade; II -- Grades 3 to 6; III -- Grades 7 to 9; IV -- Grades 10 to 12.
“We also award an International Prize each year to a student from outside the United States, for either poetry or art,” Michael said.
Whether art can change the world is no longer a philosophical question disconnected from reality. The largest underground body of water in the United States, the Ogallala Aquifer -- source of 30 percent of the nation's ground water used for irrigation, is evaporating at a rate far exceeding replenishment.
Update: The poetry entries were equally amazing but could not be included due to space limitations. You can purchase a copy of this year's winners and finalists here.
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Kevin Huo (above), Category II Grand Prize winner from Foster City with parents Kenneth and Gina. (photo/Rick Marianetti)
Comments
Love the slideshow and info - MORE PICTURES love these!
Check with the River of Words website (www.riverofwords.org/). I believe they'll be posting more. I didn't have room in the article to include the poetry, which were equally amazing. I'll update the article with a link to this year's winners.
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