Emma Kerley didn’t just win the Arbor Day poster contest at Nolan Elementary School — she beat more than 1,200 fifth-graders across the state to claim her prize and bragging rights.
“She has done great,” said Kathee Jones, a fifth-grade science teacher at the school.
Emma’s poster will represent Tennessee in the National Arbor Day competition later this spring. The winner will be announced in Nebraska City, Neb., on April 30.
“She had a pretty cool poster,” said Tim Phelps, information and education program specialist at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. “I liked how she showed how much you could save by planting trees.”
Emma, 10, made the Arbor Day poster contest during a classroom assignment, saying she drew a picture to illustrate what she had learned during science class.
“We studied about how trees cooled your house and made your energy go down,” she said. “I just thought it would be cool to do a brick house with trees around it.”
Among the messages on her poster are: “Without trees your energy bill … $400. With trees your energy bill … $50.”
Two trees are used as capital T’s to spell out the Arbor Day poster contest theme, “Trees are Terrific and Energy Wise.”
As a state winner, Emma will receive a $100 savings bond and a certificate, Mr. Phelps said.
But if she wins first place in the national competition, she gets a $1,000 savings bond and a trip for herself and her family to the National Arbor Day ceremony in Nebraska.
ABOUT ARBOR DAY
Arbor Day is a national observance that encourages tree planting and care. National Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April, which this year is April 30. In Tennessee, Arbor Day is celebrated on the first Friday in March, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.
BEST POSTER
The public may cast a vote for the National Arbor Day poster contest winner by going to arborday.org/kids/postercontest. Online voting ends Friday. The winning poster of the online voting contest automatically becomes a finalist in the judging for the National Winner of the Arbor Day Poster Contest, according to the Web site.