“One Water” Theme For Cumberland Soil & Water District Annual Poster Contest

Cumberland County students can show off their artistic skills and their knowledge of how water impacts our everyday lives.

The Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District presents its annual poster contest, open to students in K-12. District Office Manager Lynn Carey said this year’s theme is “One Water”

“The importance of water, where it comes from, hoping that they see what causes pollution to water and helping keeping that water clean, because it all ends up is groundwater, and the bulk of our drinking water comes from groundwater,” Carey said. “So we’re hoping that it helps them realize the importance of the resource, where the resource comes from, and what they can do as an individual to protect that.”

Local winners will win a cash prize and can then go forward to the state contest, sponsored by the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts. The deadline to enter is October 17.

Entries are divided among age groups: kindergarten-first grade, second and third grade, fourth through sixth grade, seventh through ninth and then tenth grade and up.

“Basically, we kind of have a percentage ratio of what we look at, but the conservation message is 50 percent,” Carey said. “See what ideas they’ve had and what they’ve expressed, the visual effectiveness, how it looks will be the next biggest percentage. And then we look at, I guess, first impression, the appeal of the poster when you first look at it, if it’s bringing that message out to you.”

Carey said the themes for each year’s contest rotates among different parts of the district’s work, from forestry to pollinators, to soil or water.

Entries can be submitted through the Cumberland County District office. You can also get more information by calling (931) 484-5442. Carey said the information has also been presented to each of the schools.