Freedom Elementary School kindergarten student Phaedra Casto recently won the Grand Prize in Take Care of Texas Art Contest.
Take Care of Texas is a statewide campaign from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to provide helpful information about our collective role in environmental protection in our homes, workplaces, and communities. The Take Care of Texas Art Contest is a way for K-5 students to learn about protecting the environment and come up with creative ways to share this knowledge with others. This year’s prompt asked students to submit artwork of how they show they, along with their friends and family, help conserve water and keep it clean.
Phaedra’s artwork won the Grand Prize in the K-1st Category. Her drawing shows a large anthropomorphic water droplet with glasses teaching small water droplets about water conservation.
Her father, Wayne Casto, said Phaedra has been passionate about creating art since she was 2 years old, and her parents have been entering her work in art contests for more than a year now by searching for opportunities online. That is how they came across the opportunity with Take Care of Texas.
“After her mom explained the topic of water conservation, they researched it online and at the public library,” Wayne said. “Phaedra felt it was important to teach all kids about conservation and how to take care of the Earth. Since she thoroughly enjoys kindergarten, this is how she came up with the idea of water teaching class.”
Wayne said that as young as age 3, Phaedra started seeing fine details in the world around her, always wanting to take pictures of items in nature, including the sky, flowers, animals, or anything she found interesting.
“She even tried to protect the weeds with flowers from my mower because they were beautiful,” Wayne said.
Phaedra is no stranger to winning art contests. She has also won or placed in the kids art contest at the Dallas Chinese Community Center twice now.
Congratulations, Phaedra, on winning the Take Care of Texas Art Contest!
