ALBANY – New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar and the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) are pleased to announce the 2024 winners of the annual “Create a Watershed Superhero” poster contest for middle school students. This year’s top winner is Hsin-Tien Wei from Minisink Valley Middle School of Slate Hill, New York. Fourteen student artists were recognized as winners out of more than 500 submissions from 31 schools across New York State.
“The winner of the 2024 Create a Watershed Superhero poster contest reminds us of the everyday actions we all can take to protect our watersheds and conserve water,” Interim Commissioner Mahar said. “DEC congratulates Hsin-Tien and all the student poster contest participants for their creative submissions.”
The annual poster contest encourages middle school students to learn about their role in protecting watersheds and how to conserve and safeguard our water resources, now and for future generations.
“NYWEA is proud to take part in this poster contest with the DEC every year, and even more proud of all of the Watershed Superheroes we now have because of the involvement of the students and teachers who participated this year,” NYWEA’s Executive Director Khris Dodson said.
DEC received more than 500 submissions from 31 schools statewide, and 14 total winners were selected. The winning posters will be featured in DEC and NYWEA’s 2024 annual calendar, with the top prize winner’s art featured on the cover.
2024 Poster Contest Winners:
| Student | Grade | School |
| Seth Bachrach | 6 | Shore Road School |
| Luna Card | 8 | Minisink Valley Middle School |
| Danni Chen | 7 | P.S./I.S. 102q |
| Hailey Hecht | 6 | Shore Road School |
| Alice Jiang | 8 | SEEALL Academy |
| Jordyn Johnson | 8 | Gouverneur Central School District |
| Kaylee Kwiecinski | 7 | JFK Middle School |
| Pin-Hsu (Justin) Liu | 7 | New Hyde Park Memorial High School |
| Lizbeth Reyes | 8 | America’s School of Heroes M.S. 137 |
| Deanna Riomao | 6 | Shore Road School |
| Hayley Soe | 7 | JFK Middle School |
| Janelle Suexo | 7 | Pearl River Middle School |
| Hsin-Tien Wei | 8 | Minisink Valley Middle School |
| Sophia Zammillo | 8 | JFK Middle School |
