Contest offers cash prizes to students promoting clean water

Stormwater Partners of Southwest Washington has announced its fourth annual Students for Clean Water Student Video Contest. 

Middle and high school students throughout Clark County are invited to create fun and impactful short videos to inspire stewardship of our community’s water resources. Stormwater Partners is a coalition of local agencies and organizations, including Clark County and the cities of Battle Ground, Camas, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Washougal. 

Students currently in grades 6-12 can submit 25- to 60-second videos on topics related to pollution prevention, stewardship, environmental justice and their connection to water. The videos are due by April 22. 

Local businesses and non-governmental organizations are sponsoring five first-place prizes of $500 each and five honorable mention prizes of $100 each. This year’s sponsors include Consor, MacKay Sposito, Northwest Watersheds LLC, Olson Environmental, Otak, Fourth Plain Forward, iUrban Teen, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington. One first prize and one honorable mention prize will be awarded in each of five categories: 

• “Protecting water in our community” short (25-40 seconds) and long (45-60 seconds) categories for videos exploring infrastructure and actions to protect watersheds.
• “Community storytelling” asks students to share their personal or cultural connections to water.
• “Clean water for all” encourages students to investigate progress in environmental justice related to water resources.
• “People’s choice” for the video with the most views and engagement from May 17-23, when videos are shared online.

Winning videos will be shared on Stormwater Partners’ social media accounts and at summer movie in the park events. 

“Students have an opportunity to share their creative filmmaking skills and passion for protecting water with our community,” said Clean Water Outreach Specialist Eric Lambert. “We’re excited to share their messages and to recognize their efforts with cash prizes provided by our generous sponsors.” 

Students and supporters can visit stormwaterpartners.com/video-contest for contest details and to learn more about the contest categories and topics. Community members can also find information on the Public Works Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles and on NextDoor.