(Photo by ChevanonPhotography of Pexels)
The annual City of Bend 2021 Clean Water Works Youth Video Contest, sponsored by the City of Bend, BendFilm and Central Oregon Daily News, brings awareness to local and global pollution concerns. The annual contest introduces topics of concern to our youth audiences and asks them to create a 30-second video that provides public awareness and remedies to fix the pollution problem.
This year’s contest topic is Scoop the Poop, bringing awareness to dog waste cleanup and protecting our water from waste contaminants.
Participants are asked to show how dog waste can harm our waters and public health, and steps we all can take to help prevent pollution from dog waste in environmentally friendly ways.
“Dog poop has more than fecal coliform in it. It also contains pharmaceuticals,” said City of Bend Stormwater Public Advisory Group member Jim Oberlander. “Pick up dog poop, even when it’s on snow. The ‘Poop Fairy’ won’t magically make it disappear. Drop the poop bag in the trash.”
Video creators are asked to consider why and to what degree dog waste is a problem, more so than waste from other animals, how to properly dispose of the waste and the need to minimize plastic waste from non-biodegradable poop bags.
The contest also gives youth an opportunity to learn about video production, which includes script writing, staging, computer graphics and video editing.
The contest is open to area students from 5th-12th grade. Division winners are awarded in the 5th-8th grade, 9th-12th grade and People’s Choice categories.
A Grand Prize winner is also selected who will have the opportunity to work directly with an Emmy award-winning producer, Joe Dean, to create a professional public service announcement to air on TV stations throughout Central Oregon and at the BendFilm festival. The Grand Prize winner’s teacher is also awarded with school supplies for their classroom. Several past winning entries have won regional awards.
For more information about the Clean Water Works Youth Video Contest, and to view past winning entries and their professional versions, visit bendoregon.gov/cleanwaterworksKIDS. A digital entry form is available for fast and easy entry into the contest. The deadline for entries is April 30.
Accommodation Information for People with Disabilities
To obtain this information in an alternate format such as Braille, large print, electronic formats, etc. please contact Joshua Romero at jromero@bendoregon.gov or 541-693-2185.
