Crystal Lake's North Elementary School students learned about caring for the Earth during their Earth Day Recycled Art Contest, and then chose to donate the funds they raised to support a local nonprofit that cares for the Earth in McHenry County: The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

The school's art teacher, Sue Jensen, invited students to create a piece of art made only from recycled materials. All contest entries were displayed during Earth Week in April. Students used "penny" voting to select their favorite piece.

Penny voting allows people to place pennies in jars located in front of the art work(s) they like the best.

After all the pennies were tallied, Victoria Ostrow from Mr. Moylan’s 4th grade class was the top vote getter with her creation of an ocean scene using a variety of recycled plastic items.

The money raised from student votes was donated to The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, and will be used to support TLC's Project Quercus Oak Conservation Project.