Kingdom Christian Academy in Fulton was one of three local schools selected as a winner of the Missouri Department of Transportation's 2023 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter Free" trash-can-decorating contest.
The contest is sponsored by MoDOT as part of Missouri's "No MOre Trash" campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about littering, and also to discourage against littering.
Students in kindergarten through eighth grade can participate in the contest by decorating and displaying a trash can. The trash cans must have the "No MOre Trash" logo and also a litter-prevention message, a MoDOT release states.
The contest is split into three competition groups; K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Each first place winner in each group will receive a $200 award for their school. All the first-place winners are also eligible for the $600 grand prize and trophy.
All entries are judged by MoDOT staff.
Daniel Schaefer and their fourth grade students at Kingdom Christian Academy placed first in the 3-5 group. Their entry was titled "Gotta Catch MO Trash."
"The students came up with the 'Gotta Catch MO Trash' to play off the already No MOre Trash,'" Schaefer wrote in their submission entry. "The trash can will be used as the school's new soda can recycling bin and is located in the lunchroom for all to see and talk about."
The winner in the K-2 group is Ginnifer Fuemmeler and their K-2 students at Hannah Cole Primary School in Boonville. They also won the grand prize.
Their entry was titled "One Man's Trash, Another Child's Treasure." This project will be on display in the MoDOT Highway Gardens building at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia this August.
The winner in the 6-8 group is Hannah Shaw and their seventh graders at Liberal R-II Middle School in Liberal. Their entry was titled "Don't 'Leaf' Your Trash Behind."
There were 21 total entries in the contest.
To learn more about No MOre Trash, visit modot.org/no-more-trash.