2024 Water Awareness Video Contest

Donoven Salgado – Think OUTSIDE the Sink!

The Solano County Water Agency’s annual video contest sought original videos that reflect the theme
Think Outside the Sink: Keeping the Rainfall in Our Reservoir. Students in grades 6 through 12 were
encouraged to communicate the importance of conserving water in order to plan for our future, even
when we are not in times of drought.

This year’s three grand prize winners are:

• FIRST PLACE: “Rescuing Our Reservoirs” by Lily Atkinson of Vanden High School in Fairfield who
will receive $1,500, split 50/50 between student and sponsoring teacher, Darcy Span.

• SECOND PLACE: “Continuously Conserving Water” by Alyssa Bongato of Rodriguez High School in
Fairfield will receive $1,000, split 50/50 between student and sponsoring teacher, Debbie Cook.

• THIRD PLACE: “Think OUTSIDE the Sink!” by Donoven Salgado of Vanden High School in Fairfield
will receive $500, split 50/50 between student and sponsoring teacher, Katy Green.

Videos were submitted by middle and high school students from 9 different Solano County schools, plus
one homeschool student.
A team of regional water efficiency experts whittled down the videos down to the top finalists, and then
a panel of community leaders selected the winners. The final judging panel included Assemblymember
Lori Wilson; Ron Turner, District Representative for State Senator Bill Dodd; and Daniel Holland of Pixar
Animation Studios.
Selections were based on entertainment value and originality, videography, style and organization,
audio/sound, and video content and accuracy.
In addition to the three grand prize winners, the makers of the top-scoring video from all schools with
10 or more contest participants earned a $100 Target gift card (grand prize winners were not eligible).

• “Help the Water Droplet by Conserving” by Makayla Guieb-Lastrella and Alvin Rebaja (Neil
Orlina, teacher) of St. Basil School in Vallejo.

• “A Dog’s Perspective on Water Conservation” by Seth Thomas (Katy Green, teacher) of Vanden
High School in Fairfield.

Finally, an Honorable Mention prize of a $100 Target gift card was awarded to “Lawns” by Marcus
Melberg of Rodriguez High School in Fairfield.

Target gift cards valued at $200 each were also awarded to the two teachers with the highest contest
participation. These awards go to Darcy Span of Vanden High School and Neil Orlina of St. Basil School.
All of the top scoring videos can be viewed on the Solano Saves Water YouTube channel
at http://tinyurl.com/scwavideo. For tips on using water efficiently, visit https://www.scwa2.com/.