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Contests

Welcome to our 2024 Poster, Photo, and Digital Poster Contest page! Participating in the Conservation District Poster Contest is not just about artistry; it's a powerful way to engage our community and promote the mission of conservation. We believe in inclusiveness and encourage everyone to join our contests. We're thrilled to introduce two new contests to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to share in our excitement and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Poster Contests

Welcome to the official kickoff of the NACD 2024 Poster Contest with the theme “MAY THE FOREST BE WITH YOU ALWAYS.” Contest details are available now! Scroll down for details! Click the yellow drop-down tabs for submission information.

The NACD Poster Contest provides students from kindergarten through 12th grade a chance to have their art displayed nationally. Winning posters reflect the annual NACD Stewardship theme and highlight the work of conservation districts and their associations in protecting and enhancing natural resources. The contest starts locally, advances to state levels, then national. National winners receive recognition at NACD’s annual meeting.

Empowering All Voices. New to 2024:  Introducing the NACD Braille Poster Contest, a new addition inspired by a creative 6th-grade student from Tuscola Conservation District, Michigan. This inclusive competition invites blind and low-vision students in grades K-12 to participate, promoting accessibility and a fair experience. Contestants may use braille as well as written lettering and art to create posters that champion natural resource conservation, ensuring equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their visual abilities.

NACD is excited to announce a second addition for 2024: The Additional Assist Poster Contest. The Additional Assist Poster Contest is open to all students who may benefit from additional assistance in completing their posters. This contest promotes accessibility and embraces diversity by providing a platform for students of varying abilities to express their creativity and advocate for natural resource conservation.

All participants are encouraged to create posters that celebrate inclusivity and the importance of our natural resources.

  • The contests welcome participation from students in public, private, and home-school settings.
  • We suggest using 60 lb paper and 11″ x 17″ is a great size for posters! However we will accept posters in any size over 8.5″ x 11″ 
  • All submissions must originate from district-level competitions.
  • In cases where residents are from non-participating districts, they should reach out to the NACD Stewardship team , and we will facilitate their connection with the state organizers.
  • The national contest offers cash prizes to the top three posters in each category.
    • First-place $200.00
    • Second-place $150.00
    • Third-place $100.00
  • Submissions are accepted here from February 20 to December 1, 2024.
  • Winners announced in February 2025 at NACD’s Annual Meeting.
  • For inquiries, please contact stewardship[at]nacdnet.org

All entries at the local and state-level contest must be submitted with this Local to State Form along with this contest entry form (placed on the back of each poster) by the due dates set by your local conservation district. Find contact information for your local conservation district on NACD’s Conservation District Directory. All poster submissions must be sponsored by a local conservation district.

Posters for the national contest will only be accepted from state poster contest organizers. All entries must be submitted through this State to National Entry Form. Please note that although you do not need to include the original contest entry form with the submission, you will need to attest that you have obtained the written permission of the student’s parent/legal guardian for the poster to be used for educational/promotional purposes.

Only electronic submissions are accepted – photos or scanned copies of the hand-drawn posters. The electronic submission should capture the original poster without editing, and images should be clear (not blurry), well-lit and well-framed. Name the JPG/PDF file for the poster submitted in the following format: State_Category_FirstLastName of the winner (Ex: Maryland_10-12_JoPerson).

If you don’t have a scanner, and need to know how to scan a document on your phone, look at Methods 3 and 4 in this article.

Questions? Please contact NACD Stewardship and Education team at stewardship[at]nacdnet.org.

Email stewardship[at]nacdnet.org for 2024 Digital Poster, Hand Drawn, Braille and Additional Needs Poster Contest Rules.

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2024 NACD National Poster and Photo Contests Rules

Find the Poster Contest Lesson plan in the 2024 Education and Lesson Plans guide!

Stewardship and Education Coordinator Note: We had not planned for a classroom powerpoint presentation with having the lesson plan in 2024 but it will be coming back by popular demand! Annual meeting is on the horizon, so we have a lot of obligations for that, and hope to have it ready for you by Feb 10th, 2024. (It does pay off to contact your association staff!) Please check back and thank you for your patience! Thanks! Aimee


Photo Contest

The 2024 Photo Contest is open for submissions until December 1, 2024. Winners will be announced during NACD’s Annual Meeting in February 2025.

NACD and the NACD Auxiliary host an annual Photo Contest, open to all amateur photographers who reside in the U.S. or its territories. Contestants are allowed to enter as many as five photos each year that each fit into one of the following four categories:

  1. Conservation Practices
  2. Close-up Conservation
  3. Conservation in Action
  4. Agriculture and Conservation Across America

Photos are judged on technical merit and composition. On technical merit, photos will be judged on whether they are well-framed, properly exposed, and sharp/clear. On composition, the photos will be judged on imagination and creativity. One winner will be selected for each category and age division (adults are 19 and older as of December 1, 2023.) Each first place winner at the national level will receive a $100 cash prize. Second place winners will receive $50. The NACD Auxiliary – through their quilt project proceeds, the Country Store at the NACD Annual Meeting and individual donors – sponsor prizes at the national level. Honorable mention award winners will also be selected for each category but will not receive a monetary award.

Questions? Contact NACD at stewardship[at]nacdnet.org.

Complete and submit this entry form for each photo you would like to enter into the contest. Photo submissions should be uploaded through the form. Photos must be in a JPG, PNG or TIFF file format. Please note, although you do not need to submit a photo release form or subject and model release form along with your photo, you will need to attest that these forms have been completed.

Minor digital enhancements for cropping, red-eye removal, filters and corrective functions are permitted; however, an image judged to be significantly altered may be disqualified. Contestants are not permitted to place borders, frames or backgrounds around their images or to place watermarks, dates, signatures or copyright images onto photos. Previously published photos are not eligible for the NACD Photo Contest.

All entries become the property of NACD. As such, NACD reserves the non-exclusive right to use submissions in official publications and for promotional purposes. The photographer retains rights and use to their photo.

All emailed photo files must be named by category, age division, last name, state and photo number. If you are submitting only one photo in a category, your photo number is “1.” Additional photos in the same category should be numbered consecutively. Name the photo file for each entry as follows:

  • Conservation Practices
    • Adult: CP-A- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
    • Youth: CP-Y- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
  • Conservation in Action
    • Adult: CIA-A- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
    • Youth: CIA-Y- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
  • Close Up Conservation
    • Adult: CUC-A- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
    • Youth: CUC-Y- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
  • Ag/Conservation Across America
    • Adult: ACAA-A- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#
    • Youth: ACAA-Y- LastName_FirstInitial-State-#

For example, John Smith, a 16-year-old from Texas, wishes to submit three photos, one in the Close Up Conservation category and two in Conservation in Action. His file names would read as follows:

  • CUC-Y-Smith-J-TX-1
  • CIA-Y-Smith-J-TX-1
  • CIA-Y-Smith-J-TX-2

Questions? Contact NACD at stewardship[at]nacdnet.org.

2022 Photo Contest First Place Winners: 

Photo Winners Adult Division Youth Division
Agriculture and Conservation Across America

Rebecca Railey

(photo 1)

Georgia – Alapaha Conservation District

Madelyn Bergey

(photo 2)

Minnesota – Fillmore Soil & Water Conservation District

 Close-Up Conservation

Anna Davis

 (photo 1)

Florida – Madison Soil & Water Conservation District

Jenna Tieskotter

(photo 2)

Minnesota – Fillmore Soil & Water Conservation District

Conservation in Action

Dawn Hergott

(photo 1)

Michigan – Arenac Conservation District

Dmitrey Davis

(photo 1)

Florida – Madison Soil & Water Conservation District

Conservation Practices

Jomi Mehus

 (photo 1)

Minnesota – Root River Soil & Water Conservation District Conservation District

Tate Luhmann

(photo 1)

Minnesota – Fillmore Soil & Water Conservation District

2018 1st Place Photos

Close Up Conservation – Adult: Karen Fenton
Washakie County CD, WY

Close Up Conservation – Youth: Eva Lee Vernon County LWCD, WI

Ag/Conservation Across America – Adult: Wayne Butler
Henricopolis SWCD, Virginia

Ag/Conservation Across America – Youth: Lainey Wriggins
New Castle CD, DE

Conservation Practices – Adult: Roxie Crouch
Northern Utah SWCD, Utah

Conservation Practices – Youth: Mackenzie Brandt
New Castle County SWCD, DE

Conservation In Action – Adult: Callie Burnett
Pittsylvania SWCD, VA

Conservation in Action – Youth: Cade Christensen
Root River SWCD, MN

2018 Photo Contest Winners

2017 Photo Contest Winners

2016 Photo Contest Winners

2015 Photo Contest Winners

2014 Photo Contest Winners

2013 Photo Contest Winners

2012 Photo Contest Winners

2011 Photo Contest Winners

2010 Photo Contest Winners

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