ZONE 7 WATER AWARENESS ART CONTEST

It’s Back. Are You Ready to Make Waves?

Who Can Enter?

All students in Grades K–12 who live or go to school within Zone 7’s Tri-Valley service area (Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and the Dougherty Valley area of San Ramon).

Why the Mystery?

We’re keeping the 2027 theme under wraps until New Year’s Day—let’s just say we’re celebrating a major anniversary and looking at both where we’ve been and where we’re going. Check back on January 1 when this page updates with the official prompt, full contest rules, and entry portal!

Need Inspiration? Explore Past Finalists

In our last contest, Tri-Valley students submitted more than 240 incredible works of art. Browse previous winning pieces below to see how local students brought water awareness to life.

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 My artwork best fits the contest theme because it promotes people to plant native gardens. Also, using plants that are native to the bay area.

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