Oct 31, 2014 3 min read

Students attending schools in 10 Southwestern Pennsylvania counties, including Washington and Greene, will have the opportunity to show how they will make a difference in the area’s air quality by participating in the fifth annual “Let’s Clear the Air Poster Challenge” sponsored by the Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership Inc. and Pennsylvania Resources Council Inc.

The topic of the fifth annual competition will be promoting clean air and alternative transportation.

The contest will involve students in grades four to 12 at public, parochial and private schools. Students will learn about ground-level ozone, energy conservation, ways to avoid exposure to air pollution and other topics.

In the spring, the winning posters will be displayed at local venues including shopping malls, hospitals and government buildings as well as posted online.

For more information, call PRC at 412-773-7156 or visit www.prc.org/posterchallenge.html.

Last year, more than 3,500 students attending 48 area schools participated in the poster contest.

“This is a fantastic outreach program for the SPAQP and has become a great hit in the Southwestern Pennsylvania schools,” said Al DePaoli, SPAQP chairman. “We hope that many other schools will participate this year.The prizes are nice for the kids and schools, but the air quality awareness and education are the primary goals for the SPAQP and PRC.”

An overview of the contest:

• Participating schools will receive program resources and have access to age/grade specific lesson plans available on the SPAQP website, www.spaqp.org.

• Contest categories are split into three grade groups: fourth and fifth, sixth through eighth and ninth through 12.

• The Poster Challenge curriculum covers topics including ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter, transportation and energy conservation, ways to avoid exposure to air pollution and tips to reduce air pollution.

• Teachers at each school will pick the top three posters and send them to PRC by March 1, 2015. The SPAQP Board will evaluate all of the posters received and choose a first- and second-place winner from each category.

• The top winner from each of the three categories will win a bicycle (to help promote alternative transportation), a $100 gift certificate to a school supply store for his/her teacher and an Air Quality Magic Show assembly for the school (a favorite of past winners). The three second-place winners will receive a gift card to a local store that places an emphasis on outdoor recreation and a Be Aware of the Air or Recycling is Magic Show assembly program for the school.