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Aldo Leopold Writing Contest

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For 6th – 12th grade students in New Mexico, the Aldo Leopold Writing Contest is an effective and inclusive way to engage the next generation of citizen leaders in an urgent conversation about how to address the changing realities brought about by climate disruption, biodiversity loss, growing freshwater demands, and other pressing global conservation issues. 

It is effective not only because of how many people it touches (the student participants, their peers, their teachers, their parents and grandparents, and their larger communities), but also because it gives voice to the writers with the most moral authority to discuss these issues:  the generation most vulnerable to the suffering that will be caused by inaction. 

It is inclusive because the essays are judged anonymously based on the character of the content, without regard for the writer’s race, national origin, religion, or any other factor. The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest is an organic - because based on merit - way to diversify an essential conversation for all of society.​
2021 WRITING CONTEST ESSAY TOPIC
The words “ecology” and “economy” both come from the same Greek root — ​oikos (see application form) — but over time their subject matters have become separated. Today, because of this separation, ecologists and economists see the world differently. But the economic health of society depends on the ecologic health of the planet. An economy is only sustainable if it is informed by ecology. 

How might reuniting our understanding of ecology and economy help solve today’s environmental problems?
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Click here for application and entry form
click here for teacher resources
Writing contest flyer

ELIGIBILITY
Open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12 in public, private, and home schools in New Mexico.​
​
CONTEST PARAMETERS
​Students must submit original work and have a sponsoring teacher sign the contest entry form. 
One entry per person.
Information about the essay topic will be published and distributed in the Fall, with a deadline for submission two months prior to the presentation of awards in the Spring.
​

FORMAT AND AWARDS
Grades 6-7:      300-500 word essay             $500 award
Grades 8-9:      400-600 word essay            $500 award
Grades 10-12:   500-700 word essay             $500 award

David E. Stuart Humanitarian Award for Overall Best Essay (at judges' discretion):  $250 bonus

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
After essays are judged, teachers of winning students and the students themselves will be notified.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
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The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest Awards are presented each year to a distinguished group of young essayists from around the state of New Mexico. These inspiring young men and women are the reification of our environmental hopes. I urge you to support the program that now lets them flourish.
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​- Barry Lopez, National Book Award Winner
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER
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OUR WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
2020

Read the article in the Albuquerque Journal

2020_writingcontestabqjournalarticle_4.24.20.pdf
File Size: 1264 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

CLICK ON STUDENT NAME TO READ ESSAY
GRADES 10-12
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First Place + Overall Best Essay
MATTHEW OSCHWALD 
Grade 10, Estancia Valley Classical Academy ​​​
HONORABLE MENTION GRADES 10-12
Isabella Clark, Grade 11, Mandela International Magnet School (Santa Fe)
Mireya Sanchez-Maes, Grade 12, Mayfield High School (Las Cruces)
Sloan Tafoya, Grade 10, San Juan College High School (Farmington)
GRADES 8-9
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First Place  ​ 
​MERRICK WORD-BROWN    
​Grade 8, Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences​
HONORABLE MENTION GRADES 8-9
Akansha Nanda,  Grade 8, Mandela International Magnet School (Santa Fe)
Maggi Van Drunen, Grade 9, Rehoboth Christian High School (Rehoboth​)
GRADES 6-7











​
First Place   
AVERY BELL 
 Grade 7, Taos Integrated School of the Arts
HONORABLE MENTION GRADES 6-7
Dylan Como-Mosconi, Grade 7, Mandela International Magnet School (Santa Fe)
Ruben Cuesta Ray, Grade 7, Monte del Sol Charter School (Santa Fe)
Claire Johnston, Grade 7, Mandela International Magnet School (Santa Fe)
2019
Click on each image to read winning essays
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ADYA RADCLIFFE, GRADES 6-8
Grade 6 - Desert Willow Family School (ALBUQUERQUE)
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NIVEDITHA BALA, GRADES 9-10
Grade 10 - Mandela International Magnet School (SANTA FE)











​
JESSE SMITH, GRADES 11-12
Grade 11 - Albuquerque Academy
2018
Click on each image to read winning essays
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AKSHAY WARRIER
OVERALL BEST ESSAY
Albuquerque Academy
listen HERE
FORWARD TO 8:20
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SETH ALMANZAR
​GRADES 6-7
Rio Rancho Middle School​
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ELIJAH RUSSELL
​GRADES 8-9
Jimmy Carter Middle School
(ALBUQUERQUE)
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PETER WATSON
​GRADES 10-12
Los Alamos High School
2017
Click on each image to read winning essays
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ISABELLA CLARK, GRADES 8-9
Mandela Independent Magnet School (SANTA FE)
OVERALL BEST ESSAY
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TIGERLILLY WARNER, GRADES 6-7
Aldo Leopold Charter School
(SILVER CITY)
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ABYGAIL MACCURDY, GRADES 10-12
Albuquerque High School
LEOPOLD WRITING PROGRAM
P.O. Box 40122  |  Albuquerque, NM 87196
505.265.8713 
LWP is a 501(c)3 organization​

CONTACT@LEOPOLDWRITINGPROGRAM.ORG
  • Home
  • Our Programs
    • Writing Contest >
      • 2023 Writing Contest
      • Previous Winners
    • Residency
    • Annual Lecture
    • EL PINON Newsletter
    • Job Opportunity
  • ABOUT
    • Aldo Leopold
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
  • Contact Us
  • Contribute