Scotties, a leader in the tissue industry, is pleased to announce the top 12 finalists in its TREES ROCK! video contest including a group of 3rd graders from Walnut Elementary Education Center in Turlock, CA. The Grand Prize winner will receive $10,000 for their school to use towards a sustainable project, such as tree plantings, updated / recycled playground equipment and energy efficient lighting. Kids who entered the contest were required to create a 3 minute video on the importance of trees -- to themselves, to their school, and to their community.
Walnut Elementary is a unique school in that half the population is enrolled in math / science and the other half enrolled in the visual / performing arts.
As 3rd grade teacher Irene Hales explains - being named a finalist in the contest means much more than just the prize money. “Our love for trees came out in our song [and video] and having the Trees Rock prize will firmly root our belief that using creativity with academics equals success.”
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If named the grand prize winner, Hales hopes that a fruit tree can be planted in the school’s memorial garden that is student maintained. She would also love to see shade trees grow near the playground to protect the student from the hot Californian sun.
Students were encouraged to be as creative as possible in their entries – for example, by creating a poem, a play, a speech, a song, or a dance. After rigorous scrutiny by a panel of judges, entries from around the country were narrowed down to the 12 best in the categories of most compelling relative to theme, clarity of message, and creativity.
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Winners will be chosen by voters across America who can watch the top videos and vote for their favorite from January 14th through February 14th on www.scottiestreesrock.com.
“Scotties passion about the environment can be seen in our 3-to-1 promise where for every one tree we use, we plant three in its place,” says John Robertson, Scotties Marketing Director. “Over the last 50 years, J.D. Irving, Scotties’ parent company has planted 850 million trees in North America. We are so excited to spread the message of sustainability to the next generation!”
