County calendar features 13 elementary students' art

County calendar features 13 elementary students' art

The Sarasota County Commission Dec. 7, recognized 13 elementary students whose artwork appears on the “Food — Keep it Local” calendar for 2012.

Nearly 1,500 students entered the competition to illustrate ways to encourage residents to purchase and eat locally grown and produced food as a way to improve health, reduce the carbon footprint, support the local economy and protect and preserve natural resources.  

The calendar was a project of the county’s Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team, in cooperation with the Sarasota County School Board. 

“The calendar encourages students and all Sarasota County residents to purchase and eat locally grown and produced food, which is fresher, more nutritious and tastes better,” Rob Wright, who coordinates the NEST calendar contest, said in a news release.

Buying and consuming locally grown foods, he added, reduces waste and requires less energy for packaging and transportation.

During the recognition of the students, Wright pointed out, “When we eat and buy local produce … we are not only helping the environment, we are also keeping money in the local economy.”  

Along with the winning illustrations, the free calendar features a thought for each month.

The annual calendar contest is open to elementary students in all public and private Sarasota County schools, including charter schools, as well as elementary school-age, home-schooled students. Each winner’s school will receive a supply of calendars. The winning artwork will be displayed throughout January in the Sarasota County School Board Administration offices. 

The calendar will be available at all county public libraries and administration facilities after Dec. 15. To get a free “Food — Keep it Local” calendar for 2012, or to learn more about the NEST program, contact Rob Wright at the Sarasota County Call Center, 861-5000.

The Winners
• Cover: Josh Kroepfl, 9, Bay Haven School of Basics Plus
• January: Chloe Browder, 9, Englewood Elementary School
• February: Eva Bayer, 10, Pine View Elementary School
• March: Jeanni Castro, 8, Bay Haven School of Basics Plus
• April: Allison Racine, 9, Pine View School
• May: Matthew Stokes, 9, Phillippi Shores Elementary School
• June: Tiffany Wiseman, 11, Oak Park Elementary School
• July: Alexandra Colton, 9, Garden Elementary School
• August: Jade Moffat, 5, Lamarque Elementary School
• September: Emily Rosenthal, 11, Pine View School
• October: Modaveny Rosier, 10, Emma E. Booker Elementary School
• November: Alexis Melone, 10, St. Martha’s
• December: Sonya Silos, 6, Lakeview Elementary