Education

Keep Lee County Beautiful holds 31st annual art awards ceremony; 12 students earn first place honors

Keep Lee County Beautiful recently hosted its 31st annual Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. "Leave the Scene Clean" calendar awards ceremony at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. The contest drew hundreds of entries from local students, representing public, private and home schools in Lee County.

Submitted work was judged on artistic execution and originality as well as environmental theme, such as litter prevention, recycling, community cleanup and protecting the environment.

The 12 first place selections, one from each grade 1 through 12, in addition to the cover winner, will be featured in KLCB’s full color 2022 "Leave the Scene Clean" Calendar. Also selected were honorable mentions in each grade. The awards ceremony included an exhibit of the winning artwork and the release of the 2022 calendar. Each of the 12 first place winners were awarded a $50 prize, except the 12th grade and cover winners received a $500 cash scholarship courtesy of Covanta Energy.

Each calendar month contains a different student work of art. The back cover features an environmental message by Estero High School student Nicole Sierra-Iszler, the cover winner.

These popular full color calendars can be had for a $3 donation each and are available through participating Lee County Schools, who retain all proceeds collected with the funds being used to pay for environmental projects at the participating school. Email Tisha@klcb.org for information on how to request a calendar.

The calendar project is made possible through corporate sponsorships. KLCB is thankful for the support and sponsors for the 2022 calendar: Covanta Energy, Above Board Chamber, Advanced Disposal, Boston Red Sox, Coastal Waste & Recycling, Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, Fox4, LCEC, Lee County Solid Waste, Miller Commercial Real Estate Group, Sam Galloway Ford, Solitude Lake Management, Surfing's Evolution & Preservation Foundation, Sun Harvest Citrus, T3C Communications, Waste Management, and Waste Pro.

Award winners

Cover Winner: Nicole Sierra-Iszler – Estero High School - Grade 9

Grade 1 First Place Winner: Brody Odom - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts

Grade 2 First Place Winner: Parker Purslow - Gateway Elementary

Honorable Mentions: Scarlett Holdaway - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts; Julia Perez - Gateway Elementary

Grade 3 Honorable Mention: Genesis McCarthy - Pine Island Elementary

Grade 4 First Place Winner: Jaxon Mohr - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts

Honorable Mentions: Raquel Mejia - Tanglewood Elementary; Hans Mesamours - Gateway Elementary; Landon Parker - Gateway Elementary

Grade 5 First Place Winner: Kelley Kenner - Tanglewood Elementary

Honorable Mentions: Emily Rosales - Gateway Elementary; Brodey Solomon - River Hall Elementary; Hannah Walsh - Gateway Elementary

Grade 6 First Place Winner: Elizaveth Martinez - Veterans Park Academy for the Arts

Honorable Mentions: Brooklynn Blusiewicz - Oasis Middle School; Alexis Davis - Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle; Sophyr Fenelon - Veteran Park Academy for the Arts

Grade 7 First Place Winner: Jaden Chason - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts

Honorable Mentions: Daphanie Welsher - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts; Lorena Huang - Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts

Grade 8 First Place Winner: Sophia Pérez - Gulf Middle School

Honorable Mentions: Jocelyn Roach - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts; Jocelyn Roach - North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts; Melinda Castro - Lexington Middle School

Grade 9 First Place Winner: Amy Le-Hoang - Cypress Lake High School

Honorable Mentions: Gabriela Kat Martinez - Estero High School; Jamison Albertorio-Acevedo - Cypress Lake High School; Zachary Yoshida - Cypress Lake High School

Grade 10 First Place Winner: Alayna Calkins - Cypress Lake High School

Honorable Mentions: Haley Allensworth - Cypress Lake High School; Ray Martorella - Cypress Lake High School; Erin Bruns - Estero High School

Grade 11 First Place Winner: Erica Fort - Estero High School

Honorable Mentions: McKenzie Donahue - Cypress Lake High School; Kaitlyn Logue - Cypress Lake High School; Heidi Hernandez - Cypress Lake High School

Grade 12 First Place Winner: Wolfe Enmon - North Fort Myers High School

Honorable Mentions: Bianca Falcon - North Fort Myers High School; Olivia Bevillard - Cypress Lake High School; Emmarose Roazen - North Fort Myers High School

About Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc.

Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc., established in 1989, is the county's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This local nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For more information, call 239-334-3488 or visit www.klcb.org. Follow us on Facebook @KLCBInc or Instagram keepleecountybeautifulfl