Company's Protect our Watershed art contest deadline set for Apr. 23

Evey Concannon, of Luzerne County, won the 2020 Pennsylvania American Water "Protect our Watersheds" Art Contest as a fifth-grader last year.

Entries are being accepted through April 23 for the 2021 Protect our Watersheds art contest organized and provided through Pennsylvania American Water.

Evey Concannon, a Luzerne County fifth-grader from Fairview Elementary School last year, won the grand prize in the 2021 contest. For her efforts, she won a Barnes and Noble gift card and her original artwork has been featured on “bloomer cards” and distributed across the state. Bloomers are seed-filled cards that, when planted and tended, produce a variety of wildflowers.

“With increasing emphasis on environmental education in schools, we are seeing more students take an active role in watershed preservation and protection,” said Pennsylvania American Water President Mike Doran. “Activities like our art contest help to remind us that we all have a part in protecting our water sources.”

The 2021 contest is open to all fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade student in schools served by Pennsylvania American Water. The contest can serve as a classroom project, and individual submissions from students who live within the company’s service territory are also welcomed.

All artwork must be the student’s original work.

​Artwork should be horizontal and on standard, white 8.5” x 11” paper. Acceptable media are paint (water colors or oil), colored pencil, markers or pastels.

Entries should reflect positive messages about why our watersheds are valuable and how we can protect them.

​Entries will be judged in April. The judges will consider creative vision, artistic talent, an understanding of watershed protection and an ability to communicate that message. Winners will be announced on Pennsylvania American Water’s Facebook page in May. 

Click the image above to download the art contest flyer and application form. Below is the map of areas serviced by Pennsylvania American Water, designating which students are eligible to participate.

Pennsylvania American Water reserves the right to not award a winner if no entry merits such designation.

Twelve entries will be chosen to be featured in the company's upcoming “Protect Our Watersheds” calendar. In addition, a first-, second- and third-place winner will be selected from Eastern and Western Pennsylvania.

First place will win a $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Second place will receive a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Third place will receive a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble.

Grand prize includes first place prize plus the student’s artwork will be featured on the cover of our “Protect Our Watersheds” calendar, along with essay and short bio.

All entrants will receive a watershed champion certificate.

Entries can be submitted online or by mail and must include a completed entry form.

Entries submitted by mail must by mailed flat or rolled in a tube, not folded. If mailing flat, please use cardboard or similar material to protect the artwork during mailing. Attach entry form to the back of artwork (no paper clips or staples) and mail to:
Attn: Lorrie Page
Pennsylvania American Water
852 Wesley Drive
Mechanicsburg, PA 1705

Participants may also enter online by uploading a high-resolution photo of their artwork, along with an entry form, using this link. Please make sure the artwork is centered and the photo is cropped appropriately. A scanner may also be used to capture the image.

Submissions become property of Pennsylvania American Water. Through submission of artwork, contestants and their legal guardians grant non-exclusive reproduction and publication rights to the works submitted, which will not be returned.

"This contest is a fun and imaginative way to draw childrens’ attention to the protection and preservation of Pennsylvania’s watersheds. The contest can also help supplement water and environmental curriculum in your classroom and can easily be adapted to a virtual learning environment," said Susan Turcmanovich, external affairs manager for Pennsylvania American Water.  

For more information, email pa.communityrelations@amwater.com