Board of Water Supply Announces Conservation & Poster Contest Winners

Posted May 15, 2013

Hawaii Energy-Sponsored "Save Water, Save Energy" Theme

Winners of the Board of Water Supply’s (BWS) 2013 Water Conservation Week Poster and Poetry Contests were announced on May 15, 2013 at an awards ceremony at the City and County of Honolulu’s Mission Memorial Auditorium. Forty-two Oahu students were recognized for creating artwork and poetry that illustrate the importance of water and energy conservation.

“This contest is an excellent way to educate the community about protecting our precious island resources,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “These students are helping to set the groundwork for future generations by conveying the importance of conservation through their fine works of art and poetry.”

For decades, these contests have focused on educating Oahu keiki about the significance of water conservation and what they can do to help preserve our limited resources. The BWS Water Conservation Week Contests accepts poster entries from students in kindergarten through sixth grade and poems from students in 7th through 12th grades.

“The quality and creativity of the entries we received continue to exceed our expectations,” said BWS Chairman Duane Miyashiro. “The winning students demonstrated a clear understanding of the contest theme and the need to incorporate sustainable practices into our everyday lives.”

For the 2013 contests, the BWS partnered with Hawaii Energy to develop a unique contest theme, “Save Water, Save Energy.” This theme challenged students to depict conservation behaviors that promote both water and energy efficiency.

“Water and energy conservation go hand in hand: preserving our water supply and reducing our dependence on imported fuels,” said H. Ray Starling, Program Director with Hawaii Energy, the ratepayer-funded conservation and efficiency program serving Hawaii, Honolulu and Maui counties under the direction of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. “We are thrilled to be a part of this worthwhile program as part of our efforts to promote energy conservation and efficiency.”

“Over the years, we have been impressed by the many outstanding illustrations of how children view our water resources,” BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Y.W. Lau said. “It is great to see that Oahu’s schoolchildren understand the value of water and the need to conserve it for this generation and into the future.”

Top honors were awarded to 24 Oahu students in different categories from kindergarten to 12th grade, along with 18 honorable mentions from 52 public schools on Oahu. The winning entries were chosen by contest judges out of more than 1,300 posters and 200 poems received.

All winning and honorable mention entries will be on exhibit at:

  • Honolulu Hale Lane Gallery from Wednesday, May 15 to Friday, May 31;
  • Kahala Mall from Monday, June 3 to Friday, June 14;
  • Windward Mall from Monday, June 17 to Friday, June 28;
  • Kapolei Hale from Tuesday, July 2 to Thursday, July 25; and
  • BWS Public Service Building Lobby from Tuesday, July 30 to Thursday, August 15.

 

This year’s poster contest judges were Stephen Goss, Creative Consultant at Stephen Goss Creative; Evan Tottori, State Office Teacher, Art in Public Places at the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE); and Marc Chun, BWS Civil Engineer. The poems in this year’s contest were judged by Tammy Baker, Assistant Professor at University of Hawaii at Manoa; Edith Bell, State Office Teacher, Language Arts at the DOE; and Shan Wirt, Director of Communications at Hawaii Energy.

These contests were made possible through the support of program partner Hawaii Energy; Platinum Sponsors Friends of Halawa Xeriscape Garden, Times Supermarkets, and Matson Foundation; Gold Sponsors Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and Hard Rock Café, Hawaii; and Silver Sponsors Aloha Pacific Federal Credit Union, Board of Water Supply Federal Credit Union, and Pasha Hawaii.

Winning and honorable mention artwork and poems will be featured in the BWS’s 2014 Water Conservation calendar, which will be printed and made available to the public at the end of this year. It will also be available for download on the BWS website at www.boardofwatersupply.com.

2013 Water Conservation Week poster contest place winners:

Kindergarten

  • 1st Place: Kiyana Smith-Soares, Na‘au
  • 2nd Place: Kalia Schempp, Kamiloiki Elementary School
  • 3rd Place: Sarah Thai, Makalapa Elementary School

 

First through second grade

  • 1st Place: Charles Seagle, 2nd Grade, Mokulele Elementary School
  • 2nd Place: Reyn Yamauchi, 2nd Grade, Na‘au
  • 3rd Place: Matthew Matsuura, 2nd Grade, Na‘au

 

Third through fourth grade

  • 1st Place: William Rodrigues III, 4th Grade, Kalihi Waena Elementary
  • 2nd Place: Koren Kano, 3rd Grade, Na‘au
  • 3rd Place: Jadelyn Dao, 4th Grade, Na‘au

 

Fifth through sixth grade

  • 1st Place: Alema Lowe, 6th Grade, Kapolei Middle School
  • 2nd Place: Cindy Tsou, 6th Grade, Kapolei Middle School
  • 3rd Place: Elijah Jan Banasihan, 6th Grade, Ewa Elementary

 

2013 Water Conservation Week poetry contest place winners:

Seventh through eighth grade

  • 1st Place: Alyssa Lo, 7th Grade, Na‘au
  • 2nd Place: Thalia Nycole Gough, 7th Grade, St. John the Baptist Catholic School
  • 3rd Place: Desiree Sebastian, 7th Grade, St. John the Baptist Catholic School
  • 4th Place: Blaise Wada, 7th Grade, Na‘au

 

Ninth through tenth grade

  • 1st Place: Maddison Matthews, 9th Grade, Le Jardin Academy
  • 2nd Place: Ethan Barut, 9th Grade, Radford High School
  • 3rd Place: Tiffany Pascua, 10th Grade, Na‘au
  • 4th Place: Ariel Faumuina, 9th Grade, Calvary Chapel Christian School

 

Eleventh through twelfth grade

  • 1st Place: Rachael Hubbard, 12th Grade, Moanalua High School
  • 2nd Place: Selena Li Fung, 11th Grade, Moanalua High School
  • 3rd Place: Christian Eviota, 11th Grade, Radford High School
  • 4th Place: Janiene Scovell, 11th Grade, Radford High School

 

A full list of awards, including Honorable Mention winners, will be available at the BWS website: www.boardofwatersupply.com.

About the Board of Water Supply

The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system. As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu. The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola”—to provide a safe and dependable water supply, now and into the future. The BWS works to accomplish its mission and strategic objectives while striving to maintain the public trust to protect the quality and sustainability of our precious water resources. Uw? ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.”