Baltimore County Students Honored for Environmental Art

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz on Tuesday presented awards to students who participated in an art contest that promoted environmental education.

“It’s allowing students to use art as a basis to learn about the environment,” said Kamenetz, who presented the awards to the students.

The contest, “Using Art to Persuade,” was sponsored by the county Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability and sought to promote the Maryland Green Schools' best environmental management practices. For younger students from kindergarten to second grade, the contest highlighted the many benefits of trees.

“The fact that your art is here means that your message got through,” Jeanne Armacost, a natural resource specialist with the environmental protection department, told the winning students.

Ruilin Li, a senior at Oldfields School in Sparks, relied on her Chinese heritage to spread her message about protecting the environment.

“I made the world and divided it into two elements—yin and yang,” Li said. “When the world is harmonious, it is in balance.”

Li’s painting showed a peaceful existence between humans and the environment.

Daniel Koissi, a freshman at the Western School of Technology and Environmental Science near Catonsville, created a drawing reminding people to turn off their lights.

“In the old days when I told my kids to turn off the light it used to be that Daddy was cheap,” Kamenetz said. “Now, it’s conserving energy.”

Kaitlynn Beatty, an eighth-grade student at Pine Grove Elementary School in Parkville, had a simple but powerful message: “Pollution is a Big Problem.” Her portrait featured a duck swimming in a polluted stream with a soda can ring caught on its neck.

Other schools represented in the contest were Cromwell Valley Elementary School, Deep Creek Elementary School, Hereford Middle School and Kingsville Elementary School.

Winners were awarded an executive citation, a framed print of their artwork and a free pass for their family to visit a county park or beach. Their artwork will be displayed in the Baltimore County EPS office and in public spaces around the county.

Art teachers of the winning students were also acknowledged for their contributions.

“The decisions you make today will impact you for the rest of your lives,” Kamenetz said to the children. “Don’t screw it up like we did.”