Water + Geology

Water Conservation Video Contest

11th Annual Napa County Water Conservation Video Contest  (2026)

Contest Theme: Beyond the Lawn

Download 2026 Entry & Release Form

Submit your Video & Release form here via Google Forms

Download complete Announcement, Eligibility, & Guidelines

Living in California means caring for every drop of water we receive. Beginning in 2027, a new law (AB 1572) will gradually phase out unused water-thirsty lawns across California’s public landscapes including schools, universities, and government offices.

We are calling on 9th – 12th grade students to reimagine the unused turfgrass lawns in their communities for a water-saving future.

The top 3 videos will be used as public service announcements on Napa Valley TV, awarded cash prizes, and shared with community members to inspire water conservation actions. The 1st place video will be shown at the Napa movie theater for 1 week in June.

Three teachers or supporting school staff will be randomly selected for cash prizes for assisting students with their projects.

Beyond the Lawn Video Design Challenge 

Create a 45-second video that reimagines an unused turfgrass lawn area in your community into a new, vibrant, low-water-use space. Please choose a location which is publicly owned, currently planted as a turfgrass lawn, and describe how you would change the space to use less water and the benefits it would create.

Location examples can include: schoolyards, turf parking lot or sidewalk strips, governmental properties like a City Hall, libraries, or parks. Your concept can be as large as a whole lawn area, or something small like a sidewalk or parking lot strip.

Your video should:

  • Show or identify a real turfgrass lawn area within Napa County
  • Must focus on public landscapes
  • Show what the space looks like now (live footage, photos, maps, screenshots, and/or drawings)
  • Present your redesigned, low-water-use vision for the space
  • Explain how your concept reduces water use and provides additional benefits

 

You may use recordings, photos, drawings, animations, voiceover, slides or any combination of media to create your video.

Eligibility

Who can enter?

  • Current 9th – 12th grade students in Napa County
  • Entries can be submitted individually or as a team
  • One entry per person or team
  • All contestants must have parent/guardian consent to participate.

Entry Guidelines

Carefully review the entry guidelines before submitting your video.

Your video must:
✔ Address the theme: “Beyond the Lawn”
✔ Show a real turfgrass lawn on public land in Napa County (property definitions below)

✔ Describe a new concept for turfgrass lawn conversion which uses less water

✔ Describe additional benefits of your design (i.e. community value, education, recreation, health and wellness, habitat, climate and cooling, pollution prevention)

✔ Be appropriate for a Napa County landscape (certain types of plants and landscape features don’t work very well in our Mediterranean climate. Not sure what this means? Ask us, we can help!)

✔ Low-water designs must include low-water plants, pavement and artificial turf are not eligible for this contest

✔ Be exactly 45 seconds (no more, no less)
✔ Be appropriate for all ages
✔ Be filmed or created using a smartphone, camera, or other recording device or video editing software
✔ Not use copyrighted images or music

✔ If using a language other than English, please include English subtitles or translation

✔ You may use AI tools if you wish; however, the most competitive videos will rely on the creator’s ability to tell an authentic story which inspires others.

✔ Videos must not infringe on anyone’s privacy or personal rights.

Eligible Turfgrass Property Definitions

Student projects must focus on publicly owned spaces, including:

  • Civic and government properties
    (city halls, libraries, public offices, government buildings, community centers)
  • Public school campuses
    (decorative or unused lawn areas only; no sports fields or athletic fields)
  • Streetscapes and transportation areas
    (roadside medians, parking lot strips, sidewalk strips)
  • Parks and public open space (not athletic fields)
    (entry areas, landscaped edges, lawns not used for play or sports)
  • Additional examples include: Building edges, fencelines, unused patches near signage and building entries, roadway medians, and roundabouts.

Judging Criteria

A panel of local water resources professionals will judge and score videos based on the following:

Accuracy – Does the video show a real, existing turfgrass location in Napa County? Are the proposed changes realistic and appropriate for Napa County?  Must be located on a public property according to the eligible property definitions above.

Design Quality – Does the video clearly show what the transformed space could look like?

Water Savings & Benefits – Does the video show a design which uses less water than turfgrass? Does the video include additional benefits the new design will provide?

Inspiring Action – Does the story motivate viewers to think differently, take action, or connect more deeply with water?

Length – Is the video exactly 45 seconds?

Proper Submission – Was the entry form completed correctly?

Submission Instructions

Deadline: 11:59 PM, Sunday, May 17, 2026

Each submission must include:

  • Completed Google Submission Form
  • Video file submitted within the Google Submission Form (.mov, .mp4, or .avi format)
  • A signed Release form for each student and group member involved in your video project uploaded within the Google Submission Form

Submit your Video & Release form here via Google Forms

Prizes

  • 1st Place: $1,500 cash prize
  • 2nd Place: $1,000 cash prize
  • 3rd Place: $500 cash prize

The winning videos will be used as public service announcements (PSAs) on Napa Valley TV. The 1st place winner will be shown before all films at the Century Napa Valley theater during the week of June 19-25.

Winners will be notified via email by June 2, 2026.

  • If submitted as a team, the prize will be split equally among members.
  • Only students who worked on a winning video will be contacted.

Teacher/Staff Support Award
If you were supported by a teacher or school staff adult for your project, please let us know. Three adults will be drawn at random to win a $200 cash award each.

Links and Resources for Inspiration:

 

People you can contact for support, guidance, ideas, and help:
Pat Costello, City of Napa, pcostello@cityofnapa.org

Eric McKee, Napa RCD, eric@naparcd.org

Lisa Lai, City of American Canyon - Public Works, LLai@americancanyon.gov

 

Learn More about Water Conservation

Visit the WICC Water Conservation webpage to find out about conservation programs where you live.