No art background required — just a visit to a park and a willingness to notice something related to the question.

‍“In what ways do you relate to parks, and how can you help protect and care for them?”

As many answers as there are students who show up. Spend time in a San Mateo County Park — walk it, sit in it, appreciate it — and let that experience shape your response. You don’t need an art background or an environmental science class to enter. You just need to be curious and pay attention. Share your story with us.

Four Categories:

Visual Arts – Painting, drawing, nature journaling, and other traditional and mixed media. Sketch what you saw, paint what you felt, or fill a journal page with observations from your visit.

Podcast / Video – Tell your story out loud or on screen. Record a short podcast episode or a short film —narrate, interview, document, or just capture the sounds and sights of your park visit.

Zine – Build a small, illustrated booklet that mixes images, text, and design. Zines are perfect for combining a little bit of everything — sketches, photos, handwritten notes, collage.

Poetry – Put it into words. Any style, any length, any form — free verse, spoken word, a single stanza that says exactly what you mean.

See full details from the San Mateo County Parks Foundation.