NEW PRAGUE, Minn. – Twelve contest winners from eight states have been chosen as winners of the second annual Art of Green Spaces poster contest sponsored by Project EverGreen and Birds & Blooms magazine, a Reader’s Digest publication. In all, 1,850 posters from more than 40 states were entered in the national contest.

“The second year of this contest was an even bigger success than we could have imagined. With almost 2,000 posters submitted, it’s clear that young people have a great interest in yards, parks and green spaces,” said Cindy Code, Project EverGreen executive director. “It’s our mission at Project EverGreen to use contests like this to further our mission, which is to ‘preserve and enhance green spaces in our communities for today and future generations.’”

The contest asked students in kindergarten through 12th grade to create a poster that exemplifies their artistic skills while describing what “green spaces” meant to them. The contest was divided into four grade groups.

“The winning posters were inspirational and really beautiful works of student art,” Code said. “Its overwhelming participation has us energized at Project EverGreen that there are a lot of young people in our country who value their yards and parks as much as we do.”

A panel of art teachers from elementary through high school determined the winning posters. First-, second- and third-place artists in each age group will receive an Amazon gift card worth $100, $50 and $25, respectively.

The winning entries will be featured on both Birds & Blooms magazine ( www.birdsandblooms.com) and Project EverGreen’s ( www.projectevergreen.com) websites.