Students videos and slide shows explore Carson River

Winners of the Carson River Coalition Education Working Group's "Keep Streamsides Greener, Keep Water Cleaner" contest will be announced at the Carson River Film Festival. The event is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Carson City Sheriff's Building, 911 E. Musser St.

The film festival is free and will feature an awards ceremony for the students who entered videos and slide shows. The short, student-made videos show why riparian areas are important to protect and what residents can do to help protect them. First- place cash prizes of $500 will be awarded to student films in each of four categories. The event also will feature a film on stream restoration.

The contest was open to students in the ninth through 12th grades of Carson and Douglas high schools and Carson Valley and Pau-Wa-Lu middle schools. The entries had to be one to three minutes long.

Although the award winners are being selected privately by a panel of judges, the public is welcome to watch and rate the entries at youtube.com/channel/

CarsonRiver2009.

The working group includes the Carson Water Subconservancy District, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and River Wranglers. Prizes will be awarded to the best individual video, team video, individual animated slide show and team animated slide show. Also, each winning entry's sponsoring teacher will earn $100.

Dr. Susan Donaldson, a water quality expert with Cooperative Extension and a contest organizer, said the contest gives students an appreciation of how riparian areas provide important wildlife habitat and help keep the river clean by filtering runoff.

"Healthy, diverse riparian areas store water and help reduce floods, filter water and keep it cool and provide a place for recreation," said Donaldson, who takes field trips to the river with certain classes. "They add to our quality of life."

In addition to the cash prizes, winning entries will be showcased online at www.cwsd.org and www.unce.unr.edu/NEMO. The winning presentations will also be featured on a local television show.

"We'll also recognize entries that received the most views in YouTube, so students should be sure to tell their friends to view their entry," Donaldson said.

Entries are being judged on creativity, effectiveness, quality of execution and compliance with contest rules and specifications.