In conjunction with PLANET's Day of Service, a North Carolina landscape company is encouraging students of all levels to design an outdoor landscape project for their communities and create a poster that highlights the plan. Hicks Landscape Contractors will then award $5,500 to the winners.

With the chance to receive part of $5,500 to initiate outdoor projects, Hicks Landscape Contractors recently invited all elementary, middle and high schools in Wake, Franklin, Johnston, Nash, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Harnett counties in North Carolina to participate in an Earth Day poster contest through March 14, 2014.

Participating schools are asked to submit a proposed service plan for this year's PLANET Day of Service and to design a poster that highlights that plan. The theme of this year's Day of Service is "Come Alive Outside."

PLANET is a national trade association that represents landscape industry professionals. Day of Service is an annual event that encourages volunteers to better the communities around them through landscaping. This year it is on April 22.

The family-owned and operated business serving all of Raleigh and central North Carolina with residential and commercial landscaping and design services will award one first place prize of $2,500 to the school that creates the winning poster. Two second place prizes of $1,000 each will be awarded, as well as two $500 third place prizes. The prize money will go toward the winning schools' proposed outdoor service project.

All proposed service plans and poster contest submissions must be registered with PLANET and received by Hicks Landscape Contractors no later than March 14, 2014. On March 21, 2014, Hicks Landscape will post all contest entries on their Facebook page. Friends, family members, school employees and anyone who wishes to participate will then vote on their favorite poster entry to decide a winner.

Social media voting will end on April 13, 2014 at midnight, with winners to be announced April 14, 2014.

Contest forms can be downloaded from https://www.hickslandscape.com/planet/. Contest rules and entry instructions are included in the contest form. Submissions should be sent to https://www.planetdayofservice.org. All contest entries will appear at https://www.facebook.com/RaleighLandscaping.