Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

Owensville Middle School sixth through eighth grade winners of the Ozark Rivers Earth Day Poster and Trash Art contest were (front row, left) Laken Williams, Anna Heidbrink and Paige Loyd and (back row, left) Jessika Gill, Cadi Ruth, AnnaFinley, Shelby Malone, Brandon Lewis and Julianna Watkins.

St. George, Hermann, kindergarten through eighth grade winners of the Ozark Rivers Earth Day Poster and Trash Art contest were (front row, left) JJ Mundwiller, Larry Thompson, Sydney Schulte, FaithEngemann, Marissa Parr, Lily Engemann and Eric Chorley; (second row, left) Ben Weissenbach, Rachel Lensing, Brennan Knipping, Chloe Witte, Lizzie Chorley,Chelsey Moeckli and Trenton Lampkin. Not pictured, Aspen Meyer, Harper Priess, Braden Schutt, Lila Abela and Paige Schulte.

ST. JAMES­—Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD) announced 28 Gasconade County students were among the 43 first and second place winners and 48 honorable mentions earning prizes in the 24th Annual Earth Day Poster, Trash and Electronic Art Contest. This year’s contest theme was “Get wired for e-cycling.”

“Our annual Earth Day contest gives students a venue to explore and express their environmental stance,” said Jill Hollowell, environmental programs specialist at Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC). “It is encouraging to see their environmental passion and knowledge expressed through their art projects as these students are our leaders of tomorrow.”

The contest required participants to re-purpose trash into three-dimensional pieces of art or create posters. There were 527 entries from 13 schools and a homeschool group. Entries included 393 posters, 100 art projects and 34 graphic art entries. The contest was open to kindergarten through 12th grade, homeschool, college and university students who reside or attend school in Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties.

“The Earth Day contest is one of my favorite projects – every year the entries just get better and better. What a fun way to educate our kids on being good stewards of our environment,” said Tammy Snodgrass, MRPC’s environmental programs manager.

Gasconade County Winners were:

• Marissa Parr, St. George School, kindergarten, 1st Place Trash Art; Aspen Meyer; St. George School, 1st grade, 1st Place Trash Art; Eric Chorley, St. George, 2nd grade, 1st Place Trash Art; Sydney Schulte; St. George School, 3rd grade, 1st Place Trash Art; and Larry Thompson, St. George School, 4th grade, 1st Place Trash Art.
• Lily Engemann, St. George School, kindergarten, 2nd Place Trash Art; Harper Priess, St. George School, 1st grade, 2nd Place Trash Art; Braden Schutt;, St. George School, 2nd grade, 2nd Place Trash Art; Lila Abela, St. George School, 3rd grade, 2nd Place Trash Art; Elizabeth Chorley, St. George School , 4th grade, 2nd Place Trash Art; J.J. Mundwiller, 6th grade, 2nd Place Trash Art; and Rachel Lensing, 8th grade, 2nd Place Trash Art.
• Faith Engemann, St. George School, Kindergarten, Honorable Mention Trash Art; Paige Schulte, St. George School, 4th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art; Trenton Lampkin, St. George School, 4th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art; Ben Weissenbach, St. George School, 6th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art; Chelsey Moeckli, 6th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art; Brennan Knipping, St. George School, 8th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art; and Chloe Witte, St. George School, 8th grade, Honorable Mention Trash Art.
• Paige Loyd, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 6th grade, 2nd Place Poster Art; and Cadi Ruth, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 7th grade, 2nd Place Poster Art.
• Anna Finley, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 6th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art; Anna Heidbrink, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 6th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art; Shelby Malone, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 6th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art; Brandon Lewis, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 7th grade. Honorable Mention Poster Art; Julianna Watkins, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 7th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art; Jessika Gill, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 8th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art; and Laken Williams, Gasconade County R-2 Owensville Middle School, 8th grade, Honorable Mention Poster Art.

Gasconade County students participating in the contest were under the direction of teacher Susan Chorley and Dawn Chaney.

Judges for the contest included Ryan Dunwoody, Tammy Rigsby and Holly Kreienkamp of MRPC, Crocker Mayor James Morgan, Tish Tsiptsis , Karen Groom and Audrey Roshan of Phelps County Bank, Brady Wilson of City of Rolla Environmental Services and chairman of the Ozark Rivers District and Ann Renner, Community Partnership Resale Shop volunteer.

“These projects make students very aware of what they can do,” said Tsiptsis, a Phelps County Bank marketing employee who is also a trash artist. “There is beauty in everything and everything has a purpose. It’s about opening your mind and finding that beauty and purpose.”

The identities of the students and their schools were concealed during the judging process.

The 2016 Earth Day contest was funded through an ORSWMD grant, made possible through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), along with donations from the following area sponsors: Bank of Salem, Belgrade State Bank, City of Rolla Recycling Center, Citizens Bank of Newburg, Legends Bank, Maries County Bank of Belle, Maries County Bank of Vienna, Ozark Federal Savings and Loan Association, Phelps County Bank, Peoples Bank of Cuba, Peoples Bank of Steelville, Town & Country Bank, Unico Bank and The Missouri Bank of Hermann.

The Ozark Rivers Districts strategy for solid waste reduction, which has been individually adopted by all member governments and approved by MDNR, involves intense education and increased recycling efforts in member counties and cities.

For more information about ORSWMD or recycling opportunities in the Ozark Rivers area, contact Snodgrass or Hollowell at 573-265-2993 or by email at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org or jhollowell@meramecregion.org.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 23, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion.