Naperville Students Win 'Keep the DuPage River Clean' Contest

NAPERVILE, IL — The winning submissions of the Lower DuPage River Watershed Coalitions’ recent Video and Poster PSA Contest showed residents what they can do to keep the DuPage River clean.

The seven winners were recognized for their research, artistic talent and message content at The Conservation Foundation’s Fall Festival on Sunday, Oct. 9. First place winners each received a Kindle Fire and second and third place winners received free passes to Naper Settlement and Naperville Park District amenities.

The City of Naperville, a member of LDRWC, promoted the contest to Naperville residents. Jim Holzapfel, Naperville public utilities director, gave out the awards.

The contest encouraged students to get interested and involved in keeping waterways healthy. The students’ messages included using less salt in winter, reducing the amount of stormwater that leaves homeowner’s property, and scooping up after pets.

First place winners:
- Ethan Dawes, fifth grade, Patterson Elementary, video
- Vishvetha Rengaraju, seventh grade, Thayer J. Hill Middle School, poster
- Rajveer Sokhey, ninth grade, Naperville North High School, video
Second place winners:
- Akhshith Rengaraju, third grade, May Watts Elementary, poster
- Vishnu Dachepalli, sixth grade, Gregory Middle School, poster
Third place winners:
- Emily Roesler, fourth grade, Ellsworth Elementary School, poster
- Sanath Dachepalli, sixth grade, Gregory Middle School, poster

Photo: From left, Vishvetha Rengaraju, Rajveer Sokhey, Emily Roesler, Akhshith Rengaraju, Ethan Dawes, and Jim Holzapfel, City of Naperville. Winners not present: Vishnu Dachapalli and Sanath Dachepalli.

Submitted by the Conservation Foundation