Artwork by Kessler Elementary School student Matt Gilbert, who won an art contest illustrating stories about native plants, will be featured on a Helena billboard for the next several weeks.
In honor of Celebrating Wildflowers Week, local fourth-grade students learned about their plant species by viewing a presentation sent by their teachers. Students then submitted their artwork electronically, and over 80 individuals participated in this year’s contest by remote judging.
Gilbert enjoyed learning about the Aspen tree and used watercolors, pens, pencils and masking tape to create his work of art, titled "Aspen Grove". He said he likes the texture of the tree bark and how their leaves quake in the wind.
The billboard featuring his artwork is located on Euclid Avenue next to B & C Cabinets.
Celebrating Wildflowers teaches the importance of native plants, and is a partnership program between the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana Discovery Foundation, and the Kelsey Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society.