9 Days 'Til the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: Students Solve Environmental Problems With Art!

Using the arts to teach students about sustainability helps boosts their creativity, design thinking, and even entrepreneurial thinking! Making paintings, singing songs, crafting sculptures and choreographing dances opens many doors of the creative world to get kids to solve environmental problems in beautiful ways, and that's exactly what these talented students did in the 2020 DooDad Competition.

This competition challenges K-12 students to reuse and repurpose different materials to solve problems creatively through art. This year, participants were required to reuse snack wrappers and plastic bags to craft sculptures that matched the theme "Shoes – Oh! The Places You'll Go!", which is based on a Dr. Seuss book. The final exhibition took place at the Tampa International Airport. The DooDad competition requires that students demonstrate the four C's: collaboration, communication, creative thinking, and creativity. It also incorporates STEAM practices, which include science, technology, engineering, art, and math. 

We have a winner!

One of the teachers that attends many of our workshops had her students participate in the DooDad competition and received awards! Lisa Lawson is a gifted program teacher at Claywell Elementary. 

The photos below are her students' DoodDad entries. Mackenzie Bader and Victoria Cruz created the project on the left, which won an honorable mention. They showcased different shoe styles in different habitats that represent species in danger of extinction. The project on the right was created by Ashley Del Pozo, who won people's choice. She demonstrated the marine species affected by waste in the ocean, especially sea turtles. 

Congratulations to Lisa Lawson and her 5th grade students, Mackenzie Bader and Victoria Cruz and 4th grade student Ashley Del Pozo! ​

source: http://doodadoftampa.org/2020-award-winners/#!gallery-35-708

source: http://doodadoftampa.org/2020-award-winners/#!gallery-42-712

​Here is what Lisa had to say about her students:

WILDLY excited for my three talented gifted students, Mackenzie, Victoria, and Ashley, who all received awards in our first ever entries in the Doodads Repurposed Art Sculpture contest.  Their work is currently on display at the Tampa Airport.  Their projects are absolutely amazing and I could not be prouder of these amazing young ladies!!!  Mackenzie and Victoria received an Honorable Mention for the Elementary 3-5 Division and Ashley was awarded a People's Choice Award.  They will receive a total of $250 in prize money.  There were 132 entries total and all three of our Claywell Cougars received awards.  The quality of their work is astounding.  SO proud!!!

We are thrilled to see Lisa and her students succeeding in making the world a better place through creative ways! If you are currently doing or have done any sustainability-related activity with your students, we would LOVE to hear it and feature you! You can message us on any of our social platforms (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter all @usfstavros) or email Deborah Kozdras at dkozdras@usf.edu. 

View the document below to see the winners and learn more about the 2020 DooDads competition!

Teaching Ideas

​If you need lesson plans or activity ideas about teaching sustainability through art, we have an incredible resource page called "Use the Arts to Inspire Change". It is filled with inspiring and educational videos, websites, and much more!