(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Two local environmentally minded students recently placed first in Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Litter Hawk Youth Award Program, which gives students an avenue to express their concerns about litter through art, word or video.

Paislee Pliska, a first-grader at West Hempfield Elementary School in Westmoreland County, and Lili Dessler, a second-grader at Rowan Elementary School in Butler County, submitted winning posters in the annual Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection-sponsored contest designed for K-6 students.

Maddie Griffin, a second-grader at Rowan Elementary, who also submitted a poster, finished as a runner-up.

Winning students, their parents, guardians and teachers, as well as legislators with winning students in their districts, were invited to attend a ceremony honoring the winners and participants at the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex on April 3.

Acting Department of Environmental Protection secretary Jessica Shirley said in a statement that the program is great because it engages and encourages children as well as their friends, families and neighbors to be good stewards and to help keep Pennsylvania’s streams, parks and highways clean.

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