The City of Santa Monica along with Sustainable Works would like to congratulate the winners and participants of the 14th Annual Sustainable Santa Monica Student Poster Contest.  This year’s theme, Do Your Part, Be Water Smart, educated students on the importance of water conservation and inspired them to use art to express their ideas while raising awareness about the drought. The contest was open to all kindergarten through 12th grade students who live and/or attend school in Santa Monica.

Congratulations to the winners! Photos from the Celebration are below. We’d also like to give a big shout out to all the teachers who encouraged their students to participate in the contest.

From Will Rogers Learning Community: Katja Alexander, Tracey Schwengel, Carl Avitia-Witt
From Grant Elementary: Virginia Ripley, Jenny Lipson, Jackie Martinez, Heather Subin, Laura Meshel, Tracy Kooy, Shelley Smith, Susan Croft, Stephanie Neumann, Lillian Chen, Amy Cordes
From Edison Language Academy: Carolina Castillo
From Franklin Elementary: Ursula Caise 
From Roosevelt Elementary: Akiko Gooden, Jennifer Lynch, Niloufar Berukhim
From McKinley Elementary: Wednesday Kirven
From John Adams Middle School: Jennifer Joyce
From Lincoln Middle School: Jody Howard, Ahn Tran, Marianna O’Brien, Angela Qualls
From Saint Anne School: Marisa Sisneros
From Santa Monica High School: Veronica Garcia-Hecht, Jorge Gutierrez
From the Police Activities League: Monica Banach
From Santa Monica Girl Scout Troop 71075: Danielle Litak

Top Actions you can take in your home to conserve water.

• Shut off running water
• When washing dishes
• Brushing teeth/washing face
• Find & fix leaks
• Take shorter showers
• Install water saving devices
• Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes

Top Actions you can take outside to conserve water.

• Water your lawn wisely – one to two days a week
• Check your sprinkler system – for leaks, overspray and broken sprinkler heads
• Use broom instead of hose – to clean driveways and sidewalks
• Install a smart sprinkler controller – that adjusts watering based on weather, soil type, amount of shade and plant type
• Water plants wisely – in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation and ineffective watering
• “Cash for Grass” landscape