FAIRBORN — In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, Fairborn City Schools will be hosting an art and essay contest for students to support the planet and win prizes in the process.

The contest is open for students from preschool to grade 12, and split into five categories, according to Director of Public Relations Pam Gayheart.

The first category is for pre-K to second grade students, who will be judged for participation only. The contest will then be divided into an essay section and an art section for grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12, for a total of six judged categories for students to enter in. Students may enter both the essay and art contest for their grade.

According to Gayheart, this will be the first year the contest will be sponsored by B-W Greenway Community Land Trust and Wagner Subaru. The exact monetary value of prizes is unknown, but every student from grades 3-12 have a chance to win.

“Once the board members select the student winners, we’ll notify the parents,” said Gayheart. The board of education will then award the winners on Saturday, April 22 at SPARK Fairborn with a certificate and monetary prize provided by the sponsors.

The prompt for the contest is simply “Invest in Our Future,” according to the Fairborn City Schools website detailing the contest, and Gayheart made clear there were virtually no rules for what kind of art projects will be accepted.

According to Gayheart, they have accepted paper mache projects, paintings of all styles, even sculptures can be entered as an art project. There are also no length requirements for the essay portion and students are encouraged to think outside the box and write to their strengths.

Contact Ethan Charles at 937-502-4532.