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AUSTIN, Texas – Take Care of Texas is running a contest for middle school and high school students to help protect the environment, offering scholarships and gift cards for the winners of the statewide contest.

What we know:

Students were asked to create an engaging 30-second video showing how to protect our environment and, ultimately, Take Care of Texas. 

The organization is looking for a positive and creative video that grabs and maintains the audience’s attention, with a persuasive environmentally-friendly theme. Each video must include the slogan, “Take Care of Texas. It’s the only one we’ve got,” or features the Take Care of Texas logo.

The top three videos will win prizes provided by Waste Management of Texas, Inc. Prizes can vary depending on the student classification of the winner. High school winners will win up to $2,500 in college scholarships, while middle school students can win gift cards up to $800 for camera equipment.

2026 student video contestants

What you can do:

Voting is available HERE and will run through Sunday, Jan. 25, at 11:59 p.m.

Individuals are able to vote once and must select their favorite videos among the six in each of the high school and middle school categories. The three videos with the most votes, from each age category, will go on to our final round of voting where they will be awarded first, second, and third place.

9th – 12th grade candidates

• Natalie Cardenas at Young Women’s Steam Academy in El Paso, Texas
• Baylee Osborne at Lovelady High School in Lovelady, Texas
• Karen Telenko at the School for the Talented and Gifted at Townview Magnet Center in Dallas, Texas
• Yein Lee at Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas
• Meera Radhakrishnan at Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, Texas
• Clara “Reagan” Norman at Samuel Clemens High School in Schertz, Texas

6th – 8th grade candidates

• Marlowe Barnes at Talkington School for Young Women Leaders in Lubbock, Texas
• Indiana Hopkins, a homeschool student in Kemp, Texas
• Madison Holcombe at Spring Forest Middle School in Houston, Texas
• Wade Clark at Bradley Middle School in San Antonio, Texas
• Jaya Modi at Spring Forest Middle School in Houston, Texas
• Annalee Wirth at Stevenson Middle School in San Antonio, Texas

About Take Care of Texas

Dig deeper:

Take Care of Texas is a statewide campaign from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). TCEQ, the state’s environmental agency, created Take Care of Texas in 2007 to provide helpful information about our collective role in environmental protection in our homes, workplaces, and communities.