SANTA CRUZ –The city of Santa Cruz announced Monday that 12-year-old Brayden Willick of Branciforte Middle School is the winner of its annual Keep Santa Cruz Clean! poster contest.
“We’re incredibly proud of Brayden’s inspiring artwork and the message it sends about the importance of waste reduction and litter prevention,” said Santa Cruz Public Works Department Director Nathan Nguyen in a statement. “This contest highlights our young artists’ talents and reinforces our community’s commitment to a cleaner environment.”
In April, students at local schools were asked to create a poster that highlights the importance of recycling in the city of Santa Cruz with submissions due May 17 and the winner chosen by the Santa Cruz Public Works Committee.
The winning poster was hand-drawn by Willick and features the classic circular “reduce, reuse and recycle” concept but swaps out the arrows for a dolphin. The design will decorate the city’s recycling and garbage trucks throughout next year, according to a statement from the city.
City staff also created a short animated video in English and Spanish featuring the winning poster design placed into a short video public service to help remind city residents to recycle and reduce waste and to help celebrate Plastic Free July.