You have a challenge: The 2026 Earth Day Poster Contest. Your target: Create the face of "Green Cincinnati."

This isn’t just about drawing a recycling symbol. "Green Cincinnati" is a massive, bold plan to reinvent our city by 2030. To help you win that $250 Grand Prize, We’ve have analyzed the city’s official Green Cincinnati Plan to give you the secret ingredients for a winning design.

Here is your briefing.

What does "Green Cincinnati" actually look like?

The Green Cincinnati Plan is built around a specific symbol: A Flower.  Each petal of this flower represents a different way our city is changing. If you want your poster to stand out, try illustrating one (or all!) of these bold ideas:

1. The Living City (Natural Environment):

The Vision: We are planting thousands of trees to cool down our neighborhoods.

Art Idea: Draw a Cincinnati street where the trees are so big they touch over the road, creating a green tunnel. Show a "Green Roof" on top of Union Terminal or Music Hall!

2. Powering Up (Buildings & Energy):

The Vision: Our historic buildings are getting a futuristic upgrade. Solar panels on old brick houses; homes that run entirely on electricity.

Art Idea: Contrast the old and new. Draw a classic Over-the-Rhine row house, but with shiny solar panels and an electric car charging out front.

3. Moving Forward (Mobility):

The Vision: A city where you can get anywhere without a gas car. Electric buses, protected bike lanes, and walking paths connecting every neighborhood.

Art Idea: Show a "Green Cincinnati" street scene: Kids on bikes, an electric Metro bus zipping by, and people walking—no traffic jams, just movement.

4. Feeding the Future (Food):

The Vision: eliminating "food deserts" so everyone has fresh food. Community gardens in empty lots, growing vegetables right next to skyscrapers.

Art Idea: Draw a community garden in the middle of the city, with the skyline in the background and neighbors sharing a basket of giant tomatoes.

5. Zero Waste:

The Vision: A city that creates no trash. Everything is reused, composted, or recycled.

Art Idea: Show a "circular" city where waste from one place becomes food for a garden, or an art sculpture made entirely of recycled materials.

Final Advice:
The Green Cincinnati Plan says we want to be a city that "leads by example."  Don't just draw the Earth. Draw Cincinnati. Draw the Roebling Bridge covered in vines. Draw the hillsides lush and green. Draw your neighborhood the way you want to see it in 2030.

Be the seeds of change.  Good luck, artists. We are waiting to see your vision. 🌿🎨