Aldo Leopold Writing Contest
ESSAY SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Friday, February 19th, 2027, at midnight.
Submission instructions can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
Friday, February 19th, 2027, at midnight.
Submission instructions can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
2027 Leopold Writing Contest
The Leopold Writing Program invites New Mexico students in grades 6-12 to submit original essays for our 2027 Writing Contest.
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Please read the quotation below, and then respond to the essay prompt that follows. "Land is not merely soil, it is a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants and animals." ― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac Essay PromptLeopold describes land as a “fountain of energy” moving through a connected system of soils, plants, and animals.
Consider the “fountain of energy” of food systems: the land, people, plants, animals, and traditions that shape food systems. As humans, what roles do we play as we interact with and depend upon these systems? |
Additional Resources
Click below to access additional resources, the scoring rubric, and a lesson plan that can help students come up with ideas for their essays.
Contest Details
INSTRUCTIONS
- Students must upload their essay submissions through the submission portal, below.
- Students must submit original essays to the writing contest. AI submissions will not be accepted. All essays will be run through AI testing software. Both the student and the sponsoring teacher will be asked to sign off on the submission portal affirming that the essay is original and not assisted by AI software.
- Students must not write their name on the essay (they will be asked to enter their name in the submission portal, instead.)
- Students must type the word count of their essay at the top of the essay. There are three grade categories with corresponding essay limits. If your essay is too long or too short, it will not be accepted.
- ESSAY LENGTH by Category
Grades 6-7: 300-500 word essay
Grades 8-9: 400-600 word essay
Grades 10-12: 500-700 word essay
- ESSAY LENGTH by Category
AWARDS
- Cash prizes of up to $500 will be awarded.
- Students will be asked to read their winning essays at an Awards Ceremony in the spring.
- There will be one Winner and two Honorable Mentions in each grade category for the English contest and one overall Winner and two Honorable Mentions for the Spanish contest.
- There are two additional awards:
- The David E. Stuart Humanitarian Award for the most creative Spanish essay
- The Estella B. Leopold Memorial Award for the most creative English essay
Each year, the Aldo Leopold Writing Contest invites New Mexico students in Grades 6-12 to submit essays in response to a carefully crafted and thought-provoking prompt inspired by the writings of Aldo Leopold. Encouraged by their teachers, students delve into his philosophies of land stewardship, especially as set forth in A Sand County Almanac, and explore the relevance of Leopold's classic and timeless observations to issues that they experience personally, locally, and globally.
Information about the essay topic is published and distributed in the Fall, with a deadline for submission in the Spring.
The Writing Contest is divided into four categories:
Grades 6-7, Grades 8-9, Grades 10-12, and Spanish.
A panel of volunteer judges evaluates each essay in these categories for responsiveness to the prompt, eloquence of expression, writing skill and language usage, and connection to Leopold's "land ethic." Judges choose First Place essayists in each of the three categories, as well as Honorable Mentions as merited. Each student winner receives a cash award of up to $500 and certificate.
Since its beginning in 2009, over 3,850 students from schools in rural and urban communities around New Mexico have taken part in the annual Aldo Leopold Writing Contest.
Information about the essay topic is published and distributed in the Fall, with a deadline for submission in the Spring.
The Writing Contest is divided into four categories:
Grades 6-7, Grades 8-9, Grades 10-12, and Spanish.
A panel of volunteer judges evaluates each essay in these categories for responsiveness to the prompt, eloquence of expression, writing skill and language usage, and connection to Leopold's "land ethic." Judges choose First Place essayists in each of the three categories, as well as Honorable Mentions as merited. Each student winner receives a cash award of up to $500 and certificate.
Since its beginning in 2009, over 3,850 students from schools in rural and urban communities around New Mexico have taken part in the annual Aldo Leopold Writing Contest.
