INDIANA — The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry has officially announced the state-level winners for its annual statewide Arbor Day Poster Contest.
Open to fifth-grade students across the Hoosier State, this year’s contest centered on the theme “Trees and Pollinators Make Perfect Partners,” encouraging young artists to visually explore the crucial relationship between Indiana’s native tree species and local pollinators like bees, butterflies, and beetles.
The annual competition is organized through a joint effort by the Division of Forestry’s Community and Urban Forestry program (CUF) and Indiana Project Learning Tree.
To celebrate their achievement, each of the top three winners receives a $529 cash deposit into an Indiana529 college savings account, courtesy of a partnership with the state’s college savings program.
The 2026 state-level winners are:
1st Place: Alice Kauffman — Goshen, Ind. In addition to her college savings deposit, Kauffman will receive a special environmental honor: a native tree will be planted on her school’s grounds in recognition of her achievement.
2nd Place: Zelia Bancroft — Carmel, Ind.
3rd Place: Isabelle Schipp — Ferdinand, Ind.
The Arbor Day Poster Contest serves as a major pillar of the DNR’s youth outreach, combining science curriculum with artistic expression. By focusing on the “perfect partnership” between trees and pollinators, students spend weeks researching how canopy health directly impacts local biodiversity and agriculture.
Members of the public can view the students’ original winning artwork and find information on upcoming forestry workshops, community planting events, and educational opportunities by visiting the official Indiana DNR Division of Forestry webpage or tracking updates via the agency’s social media platforms.
