Calling all kids! Help Ecology design a clean water coloring book

This Earth Day, we are hosting a coloring book design contest for kids across Washington. Students will learn about how to help prevent pollution and design coloring book pages with this in mind. This is a great opportunity for kids to show off their creativity and ideas to protect and restore clean water. Chosen designs will be published in our clean water coloring book just in time for Earth Day 2026! The winning artists and their work will also be highlighted on the agency's social media and website. Visit our coloring book contest web page for the full guidelines, instructions on how to submit, and the deadline.

The theme: A solution to the pollution!

When it rains, pollution from the land gets washed into our waterways. It can come from many sources including animals, lawns and farm fields, and roads. This is called nonpoint pollution. We've provided six statements describing ways we can all work together to reduce nonpoint pollution. Design submissions must illustrate one of the statements below and have the statement on the design.

Design your coloring book pages based on one of these themes:

• Picking up pet waste stops it from washing into the water when it rains.
• Trees and shrubs are awesome in many ways! They can stop pollution before it gets to the water and shade it to keep it cool for fish and frogs.
• Rain gardens are good at keeping chemicals, oil, and other pollution out of streams, rivers, and lakes.
• Cover crops like grasses, clover, and even sunflowers help keep soil healthy and stops it from washing into nearby rivers and streams.
• Fertilizers and pesticides can help our lawns stay alive, but they can also harm the creatures living in the stream if you don't use them with care.
• Keeping cows and other farm animals out of streams and lakes keeps the water clean for everyone.

Students of any age, in grades K-12, can submit their work. Visit our coloring book contest web page for the full guidelines, instructions on how to submit, and the deadline. Ecology employees and their immediate families are not eligible to participate.

Use the following resources to learn more about how to prevent water pollution from runoff.

• English and Spanish resources: visit the Conservation Washington website.
• English only resource: visit our nonpoint pollution web page.

Teachers: if you have questions about the contest, or if you are looking for more materials, or call 509-743-8078.

So pick up your pencils and get drawing! We can't wait to see your solution to the pollution!