Tri-Valley Water Conservation Art Contest
Habitat Heroes: Transforming Lawns into Vibrant Native Gardens!
Congratulations to the winner of this years Tri-Valley Water Conservation Art Contest: Nina Wang!
This year’s contest theme was:
HABITAT HEROES: Transforming Lawns into Vibrant Native Gardens
Students submitted any form of visual artwork showcasing the importance of swapping thirsty grass in your homes for a beautiful water-wise garden using plants that are native to California and naturally drought-resistant. Submissions were accepted through March 3, 2025.
Over 240 students submitted amazing artwork! After a voting period of May 1st – 10th, we tallied up the total, and Nina’s project took home the most votes!
Her project, “Let’s transform lawn into habitat garden,” shows an animated story of Tri-Valley residents as they swap their grass for California native plants that help sustain the pollinators and species inside the garden. Her artwork was incredible! Congratulations, Nina!
Let’s transform lawn into habitat garden
by Nina Wang, 4th Grade, Alisal Elementary School
I draw 27 pictures for this video, including many California native plants. This is a story about residents transforming their lawn to habitat garden.
Check out the finalists’ artwork below!
| 1st Runner Up: | Viraj Gupta (1st grade) Livermore |
|---|---|
 |
Restore Native Plants!! Restore Native Ecosystem!! My artwork shows landscape design for a colorful lawn planted with several native trees and plants. It fits the contest theme as it shows how we can create colorful lawns using native plants . The artwork also highlights benefits of having native plants. It depicts that native plants attract local pollinators and help our ecosystem thrive.The artwork mentions names of all the trees, plants shown on the drawing along with the species of bird and butterflies they attract. |
| 2nd Runner Up: | Reva Gupta (9th grade) Dublin |
|---|---|
 |
My Beautiful Backyard My pen-and-ink artwork illustrates a thriving native garden filled with colorful California wildflowers, drought-resistant plants, and animals like butterflies, bees, frogs, and more. It highlights how native plants conserve water while creating a vibrant habitat for local wildlife. This piece aligns with the contest s theme by showcasing the beauty and environmental benefits of replacing thirsty lawns with sustainable, water-wise landscapes. |
| 3rd Runner Up: | Elvy Beltran (8th Grade) Livermore |
|---|---|
 |
Native Gardens |
| Artwork | Finalist Details |
|---|---|
 |
My School’s Magical Garden by Aaditya Rukesh, Kindergarten, Dublin Elementary School My school lawn was just green. our class decided to make it colorful so we made it. My teacher got flowers, seeds and rocks. Me and my friends made our school garden. Now, my school lawn is not just green! It’s a rainbow! It’s the best lawn ever! I like to run on it! And jump on it! And smell the flowers! Daily we see butterflies, bugs and warms on our school garden. |
 |
Small Heaven by Anna Kim, 11th Grade, Foothill High School Small Haven depicts a beautiful garden full of native plants contrasting a lawn next door. While the lawn wastes water with its sprinklers and appears almost flat, the native garden has a variety of textures that provide visual interest, helps pollinators, provides beauty for the homeowner, and reduces the need for water – all traits of native gardens in the real world. |
 |
From Lawns to Lively Native Gardens by Annika Majumder, 4th Grade, Kolb Elementary School My artwork focuses on transforming ordinary, simple grassy areas into vibrant, native gardens overflowing with a variety of plants. It highlights the pure contrast between a lush, colorful garden and a plain, monotone lawn. |
 |
Save water–plant native! by Derek Sun, 6th grade, Windemere Ranch Middle School In my illustration, California native plants collaborate to transform a parched lawn into a thriving native garden. It emphasizes the importance of choosing drought-resistant, native plants by showcasing their symbiotic relationship with insects and the environment. Through this transformation, the artwork highlights how sustainable planting benefits both nature and the ecosystem. |
 |
Garden of California Poppy by Katherina Wu, 10th grade, Granada High School This drawing shows a garden of California poppies, which are native plants to California being pollinated by bees. It shows the importance of these native plants to support healthy habitats as other species, such as bees, benefit from the flowers being in people’s gardens instead of just regular lawn grass. |
 |
Bellus Gard by Katie Kim, 11th Grade, Foothill High School The art piece represents a fruitful garden, filled with native plants such as poppies, a fuchsia shrub, purple western morning glory flowers, mountain violets, deer grass and a sycamore tree. As well as conserving water, this garden provides homes to local wildlife and encourages pollination. Not only does this show how it has a positive impact on the environment, it also presents the possibility of having a beautiful scenic view of mother nature, straight from one s backyard. |
 |
Transforming your lawn into the garden of your dreams by Madison Loeffler, 5th Grade, Our Savior Conserve water without having a lawn, and instead create a habitat for native insects and flowers. Acrylic and oil paints on canvas. |
 |
California Wild Rose by Matteo Jara, 1st grade, Acton Academy East Bay This flower is native to California and naturally drought-resistant. |
 |
Native garden leads to happy life by Nivriti Ulavapalli, 5th Grade, Art Process Instead of having lawns full of grass, you can grow plans that are native , don’t need much water. A great way to save water. |
 |
Fruits and flowers front liners by Pushti Mohta, 2nd Grade, Mohr Elementary Our artwork celebrates the beauty and importance of creating water-wise gardens with native plants. Featuring monarch butterflies, bumblebees, and sweet bees, along with flowers like dandelions and the vital Milkweed plant, it showcases how these plants support pollinators and contribute to a healthy ecosystem. By swapping thirsty grass for California’s native species, we can conserve water while helping sustain wildlife habitats |
 |
Rewilding the Future by Sharmila Vepa, 8th Grade, Joe Michell K- 8 School It is a vibrant transformation of a boring unsustainable water-thirsty garden into a thriving beautiful garden filled with native plants like poppies, irises, oak, native grass, toyons, and clarkias. |
 |
Thriving Beauty by Solomon Nguyen, 8th Grade, St. Raymond By replacing unhealthy, dry grass with vibrant native California Poppies and Woolly Blue Curls, it not only enhances the visual beauty of California landscapes but also provides vital support for the ecosystem, specifically aiding the well-known California pollinators, the busy bees, to thrive. This results in an all-encompassing, beneficial success for both nature and aesthetics, exemplifying the true beauty that is California. |
 |
Habitat Heroes: Transforming Lawns into Native Garden by Souparnika Kiran, 3rd Grade, Lawrence Elementary The artwork shows a superhero transforming a dull, dry lawn into colorful and vibrant native garden. On the left side, the land looks dry with wilting plants, while right, superhero has planted beautiful flowers and big green tree.The scene is bright and cheerful, with smiling bees, butterflies and a happy sun, reminding everyone to save water and plant native gardens |
Finalists’ Artwork will be displayed throughout the tri-valley!
The DSRSD student projects will be displayed at the Wave Waterpark located at 4201 Central Parkway in Dublin.
Contest Rules
Who Can Enter the Contest: Participants must be K – 12th-grade students living in or enrolled at a school in Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, or Dougherty Valley. If you are not sure if you live in Dougherty Valley, enter your address into the DSRSD Service Area Map.
What Can Be Submitted: This contest is open to all forms of visual artwork, including painting, drawing, ceramics/sculpture, digital illustration, video/animation, and photography. However, entries must be no larger than 2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft.
When to Enter: Entries must be received by March 3, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
Judging & Prizes
Staff from the contest’s sponsoring agencies will select contest finalists. Once the finalists have been selected, their artwork will be shared online in April 2025 so that the Tri-Valley community can vote for the grand prize winner. The grand prize winner will receive an iPad. All finalists’ artwork will be displayed at public locations throughout the Tri-Valley in May 2025.
Enter the Contest
Submissions for our art contest are now closed! Thank you to everyone who shared their incredible work.
For any questions, please email msantiago@zone7water.com