SPRINGDALE — A video from Walker Elementary School is a finalist in the National Geographic Find Your Footprint contest.
Elementary schools submitted three-minute films about ways people can reduce their impact on the environment. Contest judges narrowed the entries to six finalists, and a public vote through March 15 will determine the winner.
The winner will receive $36,000 in equipment, including five Promethean interactive whiteboards, said Betsy Wright, Walker second-grade teacher.
The video, "Helping the World and Saving Our Future," was made by the second-grade teachers and can be viewed at www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint. Voting is limited to one entry per computer, Wright said.
The film, made last semester, features short scenes with students holding message signs.
A clip about reusing water bottles shows a student filling up a bottle at a water fountain. A scene encouraging people to save energy shows a student flicking off a light switch in an empty classroom.
The signs are put together at the end to form a picture of the planet. There is no dialogue, only music.
"It wasn't just about winning the Promethean Board, but it's about helping our future," said Jessica Valdez, a second-grader.
Wright said the students contributed several ideas used in the video.
Walker's four second-grade classrooms do not have interactive whiteboards. Winning the contest would provide a board for each of them and another for someone else, Wright said.
"It would be pretty cool having one," said Patrick Kingston, a second-grader.