Jul 6, 2008

Artist a model of green living

Foster City youth dreams of an energy-efficient future

By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer

Some kids entered SamTrans' "Art Take a Bus Ride" competition because they like to draw. Nine-year-old Kevin Huo of Foster City did it because he wants to help save the world.

"I had to get my message out to everyone so they'd understand that this earth is getting sick," Huo says. "I want everyone to understand that they should ride the bus and lower their carbon footprints."

Huo, a third-grader at Audubon Elementary, won the contest's grand prize with a drawing he describes as a vision of a healthier future. SamTrans spent $5,000 to plaster one of its full-size buses with a blown-up version of the picture, in which windmills and solar panels form the backdrop for a line of smiling bus passengers.

A budding environmentalist who lists "looking at trees" as a favorite hobby, the precocious third-grader was an apt winner for a contest which theme this year was "Go SamTrans, Go Green." He studies birds, enjoys learning about sustainability and volunteers with his family to clear trails at local parks.

Rita Haskin, SamTrans' chief communications officer, says the contest was intended to help kids start to mentally connect the environment with public transit.

"One bus can take 45 cars off the road," she says. "It's something the transit districts have been doing for years and years, but it wasn't in vogue" until recently.

Haskin said SamTrans is hoping rising fuel costs and dawning awareness of global warming will bump its bus ridership, although it hasn't happened yet.

Huo is a step ahead. While he advocates public transit, he personally prefers even lower-impact transit modes.
"Mostly I like walking everywhere," he says. "Also I really like riding my bicycle around so I save energy."

His favorite destinations? Parks, of course.

When he grows up, Huo wants to put his environmental awareness to work as an architect - "just like my dad," he says.
Recently, Huo was shopping in downtown San Mateo with his mother when he spotted his own drawing rolling down the street.

"I was very excited," he said. "I pointed at it and said, 'There goes my bus!'"

The "art bus" bearing Huo's picture will be in service on various SamTrans routes for one full year.



E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com







VISIONS IN GREEN

More than 200 students from kindergarten through eighth grade entered SamTrans' "Art Takes a Bus Ride" competition, which had an environmental theme this year. Here are the eight winners:



Grades K-1

Ria Kolli, Nesbit Elementary, Belmont

Jonard Millena and Angel Molina, Martin School, South San Francsico



Grades 2-3

Sophie Srivastava, Central Elementary, Belmont

*Kevin Huo, Audubon School, Foster City



Grades 4-5

Natalie Baker, La Entrada School, Menlo Park

Sabrina Mathews, La Entrada School, Menlo Park



Grades 6-8

Tiffany Yang, La Entrada School, Menlo Park

Riley Lico, La Entrada School, Menlo Park



*Grand prize winner