CULLMAN, Ala. – School is out and Christmas break is in full swing for students. For fifth graders in the city, between hot cocoa breaks and video game levels, now is the opportune time to brainstorm and think up ideas for the 2024 Arbor Day Poster Contest hosted by the Cullman County Extension Office and supported and judged by the Cullman Tree Commission.
Leanne West, recorder for the Cullman Tree Commission, said, “All the city schools have the information.”
The theme for 2024’s poster contest is “Trees are terrific… in cities and towns.” Students can dream up any take on the theme, as long as it fits within the contest parameters and rules. This year’s theme was similar: “Trees are terrific… and forests are too!” Cullman Christian School’s Marriah Hain took home first place at the state level for the 2023 competition.
As with any contest, there are parameters and rules that local students must follow. Posters must be original creations of a fifth-grade student; can be made with markers, colored pencils, pens, chalk, watercolors, ink, tempera paint, acrylic or paint pens; and no collages will be accepted. Poster sizes must be between the sizes of 8.5” x 11” and 14” x 18”. No collages, computer-generated art or art depicting cartoons or movie/TV characters will be accepted for submission.
Fifth-grade students from Saint Paul’s Lutheran School, Sacred Heart, Cullman Christian School, East Elementary and West Elementary can submit their finished posters to their teachers until the beginning of February when they’ll be taken to the Cullman County Extension Office to await judging.
The posters will be judged, and first and second place winning posters from each school will be chosen by the Cullman Tree Commission on Feb. 5, with a ceremony planned on Feb. 20 to recognize the winners. Winners will receive a cash prize, courtesy of the Tree Commission; increased from the prize amounts of previous years, first place will be awarded $50 and receive a handmade quilt in a festive arbor theme and the second-place winner will be awarded $25 courtesy of the Cullman Tree Commission. The first-place winner from each school will travel to Montgomery to compete in the state contest.
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