Barnard Students Clean Up at Water Art Contest

Barnard Students Win Top Honors For Oakland County Clean Water Student Competition

There’s something in the water at Barnard Elementary in Troy. The popular 2021 Oakland County Kids’ Clean Water Calendar Contest has resulted in great work being submitted by local fourth and fifth grade student artists across the county, and yet another sweep by Barnard Elementary School (Troy) students. Out of nearly 200 4th and 5th grade art submissions from across the County, Barnard 4th grader Aditya Yogesh, won the grand prize with his artwork titled, “Save Water, Save Nature” and is featured on the cover of the 2021 Kids’ Clean Water Calendar.

“When we learned about how so many countries in the world do not have access to safe drinking water, I wanted to create awareness about saving our water resources,” said Yogesh. Barnard teacher Gwen Simon encourages her students to participate in the annual contest because “…they know how vital the Great Lakes are to everyone in Michigan and know how important it is to protect our waterways.” The poster contest gives students a chance to teach others some of the ways we can have a positive impact on our environment. And its something Simon and the staff at Barnard have been on top of (literally) for years. Out of the last 12 years, 5 Barnard students have been Grand Prize Winners, 37 have been Monthly winners, 32 have been Honorable Mentions and 47 have been Special Acknowledgement winners. That’s a lot of Bluejays, and this contest has become part of the fabric of what they do over at Barnard. “We are grateful that the WRC continues to honor our students for not only their beautiful artwork, but also for the important messages they share about protecting our waterways,” continued Simon.

The winners are selected from a panel of special guests. “The Kids Clean Water Calendar Contest is one of my favorite annual projects,” said Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash. “The fourth and fifth graders put great effort into their art and they learn a lot about how they can protect the environment and our water resources now and when they grow up,” continued Nash.

The 2021 calendar artwork gallery can be viewed at www.oakgov.com/water/resources/education/calendar-contest , and calendars can be ordered and picked up at the listed local libraries, including the Troy Public Library.

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Photo of Aditya Yogesh courtesy of the Troy School District and Oakland County Water Resources Commission