The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts hosts annual speech, essay and poster contests for youth across the state.

July-October: Poster theme for the following school year will be announced on the NACD website. Go to www.nacdnet.org for the new theme and for materials offered by the NACD that can support your poster contest. REMEMBER: utilize the OACD contest rules and guidelines not the NACD guidelines for your contest. The Area contests are held the second fall after the contest announcement giving the local conservation districts approximately 15 months to conduct their poster contest. Local contests may be held at any time during the year. Essays and posters are to be submitted to the local conservation district. The local conservation district will hold speech contests. The exact due dates will be set by the local conservation district board. Posters and essays eligible for the area contests as well as speech contestant names are to be sent to the Oklahoma Association of Conservation District Employees’ (OACDE) Area Representative by October 14th. Names of and entry records for the speech contestants eligible for the area contests are due to the OACDE Area Representative by October 14th.

Contact your area conservation district for more details for your area youth contests.


86th Annual OACD State Meeting Youth Awards


Poster Contest

The annual poster contest provides kindergarten through 12th-grade students an opportunity to convey their thoughts about soil, water and related natural resource issues through art. It also highlights the educational outreach efforts of conservation districts and their state associations, auxiliaries and agencies. The contest follows the annual Stewardship Week theme of the National Association of Conservation Districts. The 2024 Stewardship Week theme is "MAY THE FOREST BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS." Help share the importance of conserving woodlands.Entries must be submitted to your area conservation district.

Digital Poster Contest

The annual Digital Poster Contest is open to students in the following divisions.

Division I: Grades 7-9

Division 2: Grades 10-12

Digital Posters should be 8.5 x 11 and be submitted to the area conservation district as a 300 dpi, JPEG, or PNG. It shall not include any copyrighted, trademarked, or branded marks, images, or phrases other than the NACD themed logo. The NACD logo can be downloaded on the NACD website. 

Essay Contest

The annual essay contest is open to students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Essays must be between 300-500 words in length and incorporate the annual Stewardship Week theme (see poster contest rules above.) Entries must be submitted to your area conservation district.

Speech Contest

The annual speech contest is designed to educate participants about natural resources and their area conservation districts. The contest is open to students in the following divisions:
Division I:  8th, 9th & 10th grades
Division II:  11th & 12th grades

Speeches must be four to six minutes in length and focus on any current subject that deals with topics such as soil, water, air, rural water, wildlife, forestry, aquaculture, conservation, recreation, recycling, energy, environmental issues, agronomy, etc. Area speech contests will be held during the Area Meetings. For more information, contact your area conservation district.


Thank you to the following 2023-24 OACD Youth Contest Sponsors:

Caughlin Seed

Nowata County Conservation District

OACDE


National Land and Range Judging Contest

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Since 1952, Oklahoma has welcomed high school students from across the United States to the National Land and Range Judging Contest in Oklahoma City. This contest averages 700 participants each year. Contestants must first qualify quality in their home state to be eligible to compete in Oklahoma at the National Land and Range Judging Contest.

The contest consists of three separate events – land judging. range judging, and homesite judging.Land judging looks at soil characteristics to determine its quality and capabilities. Examples of areas reviewed are erosion, slope, drainage and permeability. Reviewing these characteristics allows students to learn about how our soil can be used, how different soils should be managed and, most importantly, how to conserve one of our critical natural resources. Range judging teaches students how to properly identify plants, their growth habits and their value for livestock, as well as how to best manage and preserve range land to maximize use and minimize negative impact.  The purpose of the homesite judging contest is to increase awareness of the importance of our soil resources and educate students on the diversity of soils. The contest will introduce them to the basics of soil assessment and proper management for agricultural and urban land uses. 

The National Land and Range Judging Contest is judged by soil scientist experts from Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). These volunteers dedicate their time to educating participants about soil and plant conservation and provide valuable feedback to the participants.

Click here for more information.

SAVE THE DATE: 2024 NLRJ Contest

April 30th-May 2nd in El Reno.

For any questions contact OACD Youth Contest Coordinator, Amanda Fitzgerald.

Email: AmandaDFitzgerald@okconservation.org,

Phone: 405-210-4837.