Conservation Essay Contest

Join the Dugdemona Soil and Water Conservation District as we celebrate conservation by participating in the Conservation Essay Contest, with the theme “Water is Life.”

The contest will have two categories: 8th Grade and 9th Grade.

The winners will be awarded with cash prizes of: $100.00, $50.00, and $25.00.

This year we will reward the teacher whose student wins first place, by giving them a cash award of $100.00.

The Essay must be the original work of the student. Teacher counseling is permitted. No more than 20% may be direct copy from other sources and directly quoted material must be credited to the author. Paraphrasing is permitted. Resource conservation material may be obtained from the Soil and Water Conservation District in your parish, or any other sources with material pertaining to this year’s theme. The essay must be typed and double-spaced and will consist of a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 500 words. Each essay will be on the basis of 50% for content, 35%for composition, and 15% for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness. Then information should be factually correct and should depict the theme.

This year’s theme, “Water is Life” focuses on water– a non renewable natural resource and how this precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more demands on fresh water supplies. The water on Earth has been here since the beginning of time, it contains all the water we will ever have. Earth's waters are constantly in motion in a process known as the hydrologic cycle. The hydrologic cycle has no beginning and no end. No water is gained or lost in the cycle, but the fresh water available to users can fluctuate due to cycles in the weather and changes in water quality. Throughout time, the same water has been transferred from the oceans into the Earth's atmosphere and dropped on land again. That means the water we use today is the same water that was here when dinosaurs roamed the land. Less than 1 percent of all the water on Earth is fresh water that we can actually use. How do we conserve it? Participating in this contest will teach your students just how big of an impact one person can make through conservation.

For information about the conservation essay contest and conservation, contact the Dugdemona Soil and Water Conservation District office by calling (318) 628-4438 or visit the office at 301 West Main Street, Suite 207, Winnfield, Louisiana 71483 (We are located in Room 207 above the Winn Parish Health Unit.)

Learn about the many reasons we should all “celebrate conservation.” We are looking forward to working with our schools in Caldwell, Jackson and Winn Parish and receiving our student’s entries for this essay contest and other projects we have planned for the 2008-2009 school year.