Delano 7th-graders win award for documentary

A trio of small-town middle school documentarians won a national award for their environmentally-focused video.

The three Delano Middle School students submitted a documentary about water pollution to C-SPAN's StudentCam contest, beating out roughly 2,800 other student-made films. The contest is geared to allow students across the country to learn about and teach others about contemporary issues.

For Liliana Schroedl, Gretchen Ness and Naomi Thoelke, the video was a project for their Advanced Language Arts class.

When Schroedl found out she and her friends had won she was shocked and excited.

"I never thought we'd get third place because that's really good," she said. She was hoping for an honorable mention.

Schroedl, 12, said Ness's father thought of the idea and it hooked them right away.

"We all really love animals and water pollution really affects animals and the environment," she said.

The school provided video equipment as well as support to teach students how to frame a shot and conduct interviews, she said. The project started in October and students worked on it about 3 days each week until partway through January, when the project was submitted for consideration.

"What we wanted them to do was a long-term research project, something that requires organization and collaboration and stick-to-itiveness," she said.

This year, due to the upcoming election, teachers asked students to make documentaries about topics they want people to think about when they cast their votes.

In the documentary, the three students warn viewers about the risks of littering in waterways and the harm it can bring to local ecosystems.

The girls won a total of $750 by taking third place in the contest. Schroedl hasn't figured out what she will do with her share of the winnings yet, so she hopes to save it until she comes up with a good idea.

In the documentary, the girls spoke with state Rep. Joe McDonald, R-Delano, as well as water experts from the University of Minnesota, Crow River Organization of Water, Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

"They did a good job really taking all the skills to heart and trying to implement them," she said.