2015 is the International Year of Soils, so in celebration of one of our most important natural resources, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Lexicon of Sustainability are hosting the “Voices of Soil” Essay and Video Contest for young farmers, agricultural students, or any young person who appreciates the value of healthy soil.

CONTEST CATEGORIES

We are accepting ​​written essay and/or video submissions ​that answer one or more of the following questions:

1. WHY IS SOIL HEALTH IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY?

2. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND A HEALTHY CLIMATE?

3. WHY IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL AND WATER IMPORTANT?

​Videos must be no longer than 5 minutes in length and you can copy/paste the complete URL of the video from the following platforms: LexiconofFood.com, YouTube.com, Vimeo.com (examples:https://www.lexiconoffood.com/video/lets-talk-about-soil or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arTAwCNAaFA orhttps://vimeo.com/53618201).
Written essays must be between 700 and 1000 words and uploaded files should be less than 64MB, .pdf, .doc, .docx formats only allowed. Alternatively you can copy/paste the complete Lexicon of Food post URL for the essay (example:https://www.lexiconoffood.com/post/ten-things-you-should-know-about-soil)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE​ ​is ​Midnight PDT on August 15, 2015.
The “Voices of Soil” contest is open to US residents (excluding Puerto Rico) ages 18 to 28, who love soil and are pursuing an education or career in agriculture, environmental science, or other related fields to enter. We especially encourage submissions from young farmers. Partner staff, relations of partner staff, and relations of the judging committee are not eligible to compete.​
For more information, visit the website!