LYNN — With a box of crayons, a big imagination, and a message that caught the City Council’s attention, Arianna Satterwhite is the winner of the city’s “Keep Lynn Clean” poster competition.
For her prize, Arianna Satterwhite received a City Council citation, a Mayoral certificate, and her work displayed on a billboard on Broadway in Wyoma Square. Lynn Woods Elementary, Arianna Satterwhite’s school, is the reigning champion of the competition, with students winning back-to-back this year.
Copies of Arianna’s poster were printed and distributed throughout the city by Lynn Tech’s Graphics department.
Arianna said it felt amazing to win the competition and see her work on display.
She said she hopes her poster teaches people “to keep the Earth clean and to not pollute the sky, and to pick up trash.”
She said she drew inspiration for her poster from past examples shown to her by her teacher. Her poster features a drawing of the Earth with encouraging messages such as “Plant Seeds,” “Pick Up Trash,” “Recycle,” “Conserve,” and, most importantly, ” Keep Lynn Clean ” in the center of the poster.
Arianna’s Dad, Michael Satterwhite, said whenever his children see litter, “they always get mad.”
He said he was happy to see his children recognize that littering is “not good for the city or for the planet.”
Arianna’s Mom, Andrea Satterwhite, a member of the School Committee, said she “was excited to see how much this meant to her and how much effort she put into this. She did that poster three times before she ended up putting it on the actual poster board and put all of her ideas together, and it came out amazing.”
Michael Satterwhite said the poster occupied the Satterwhites’ kitchen table for about a week while a work in progress. “It was a serious thing, a very serious thing.”
City Councilor Brian M. Field, who co-chairs the Litter Committee with Councilor Natasha Megie-Maddrey, said this is the sixth year they have run the competition.
“We wanted to make sure we honored Ariana here and acknowledge her hard work, and our billboard that’s having everybody coming up Broadway right now, looking at it, reminding people to keep our city clean, he said.
He said they invite every second grader in the city’s schools to participate: “We get into every second-grade class in the city on Monday, right after Earth Day in April.”
He said, “The students are invited to create a poster to talk about litter and ways we should be able to keep our city clean.”
On the importance of keeping Lynn clean, Field said, “Second graders like this, they get it. I don’t know why the rest of the people can’t get it.”
