Aldo Leopold Writing Contest
THE ALDO LEOPOLD WRITING CONTEST
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 demand for fresh water, and other pressing global conservation issues.
It is effective not only because of how many it touches (the student participants, their schools, 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 consequences of inaction. It is inclusive because the essays are judged anonymously based on the character, relevance, and persuasiveness of the content, without regard to the writer’s race, origin, religion, or other factor. The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest is an organic way to diversify an essential conversation for society because it is expansive, wide-reaching, and merit-based.
Photos by Christina Brogdon
Leopold Writing Contest Details
Information about the 2026 essay topic will be published and distributed in October 2025, with a deadline for submission in March 2026.
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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. The Writing Contest is divided into three Categories: Grades 6-7, Grades 8-9, and Grades 10-12. |
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 and certificate. Since its beginning in 2009, over 2,300 students from schools in rural and urban communities around New Mexico have taken part in the annual Aldo Leopold Writing Contest. |
