Aldo Leopold Writing Contest
2023 Writing Contest
DEADLINE
All entries must be emailed to LeopoldWritingContest@usgo.net
by 11:59 pm on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2023
All entries must be emailed to LeopoldWritingContest@usgo.net
by 11:59 pm on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2023
This Year's Essay Topic
Please consider the quotes below, and then respond to the ESSAY PROMPT that follows.
In “Returning the Gift,” Robin Wall Kimmerer writes:
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We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth, gifts we have neither earned nor paid for: air to breathe, nurturing rain, black soil, berries and honeybees, the tree that became this page, a bag of rice and the exuberance of a field of goldenrod and asters at full bloom. ...Though the Earth provides us with all that we need, we have created a consumption-driven economy that asks, “What more can we take from the Earth?" and almost never, “What does the Earth ask of us in return?”
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Aldo Leopold, in his foreword to A Sand County Almanac, writes:
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We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
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Essay Prompt
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After reflecting on Kimmerer’s and Leopold’s thoughts about our relationship to the land, what do you see as your role in returning the Earth’s gifts?
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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.
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 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 levels:
Grades 6-7, Grades 8-9, and Grades 10-12.
A panel of volunteer judges evaluates each essay in these grade 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 2,000 students from schools in rural and urban communities around New Mexico have taken part in the annual Aldo Leopold Writing Contest.
The Writing Contest is divided into three levels:
Grades 6-7, Grades 8-9, and Grades 10-12.
A panel of volunteer judges evaluates each essay in these grade 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 2,000 students from schools in rural and urban communities around New Mexico have taken part in the annual Aldo Leopold Writing Contest.
General Contest Details
ELIGIBILITY
Open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12 in public, private, and home schools in New Mexico.
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
ESSAY LENGTH
Grades 6-7: 300-500 word essay
Grades 8-9: 400-600 word essay
Grades 10-12: 500-700 word essay
Grades 6-7: 300-500 word essay
Grades 8-9: 400-600 word essay
Grades 10-12: 500-700 word essay
AWARDS
First Place in each Grade Level - $750 award
Honorable Mention – $100 award (up to 2 per Grade Level, at judges' discretion)
First Place in each Grade Level - $750 award
Honorable Mention – $100 award (up to 2 per Grade Level, at judges' discretion)
