Complete Rules, Details, and Entry Form (.pdf)

If you could speak to a tree, what would you say?  Would you sing it a love song, thank it for the goods it produces and the services it performs, or ask it questions about what it’s like to be a tree?  In this year’s Arbor Day Youth Contest, Richland County preK-12 students are invited to explore this prompt through any of three media:  Greeting Card, E-mail, or Performance Art.  Details and guidelines are below.

Contest winners will receive $25 cash prizes.  Entries may be individual, group, or class projects, but only one cash prize will be awarded per winning entry.  The contest is open to preK-12 students who live in, or attend school in, Richland County.  The submission deadline is October 21, 2016.  **Due to Hurricane Matthew, the submission deadline has been extended to October 31, 2016.** 

• Greeting Card:  Create a greeting card for a tree.  For example, you may design a thank you card, a love card, a get-well-soon card, a congratulations card, or a thinking-of-you card.  Be creative!  Entries will be judged on both the card’s cover art and the message inside.  Card artwork may be created using any 2D media. Notecard size should be no smaller than a quarter-fold (4.25” x 5.5”) and no larger than a half-fold (5.5” x 8.5”).  Paperclip an entry form to each greeting card submission.  Greeting cards must be submitted as hard copies.

*Greeting cards will be shared with public officials and other members of the community following contest judging and will not be returned, so please take a photograph or make a photocopy if you would like to keep a copy of the submission for yourself.

• Performance Art:  Create, perform, and record a song, rap, skit, or dance that communicates a message to a tree.  The performance can be addressed to a specific tree with meaning to you or directed toward trees in general.  Performances should not exceed five minutes in length.  Submit the performance in a ready-to-play video format on CD/DVD with a completed entry form or through an online video sharing service.  If the entry is submitted electronically, include the information from the entry form in an e-mail to RichlandSWCD@gmail.com along with a link to the entry.

• E-Mail:  Write an e-mail with a message intended for a tree.  This message can be addressed to a specific tree with meaning to you, or directed toward trees in general.  The message may be formatted as a letter or may be freeform (including poetry).  Submissions should not exceed 1,000 words.  The message may be e-mailed to RichlandSWCD@gmail.com with the information from the entry form included in the e-mail body or as an attachment, or the message may be delivered as a hard copy with an entry form attached.    

Inspiration: Use these ideas to spark your imagination.

• What would you ask an ancient tree?
• What would you tell the first tree you climbed?
• What would you say to the rainforest?
• What would you tell the trees in your favorite city park?
• How would you explain climate change to a tree?
• What would you tell a seedling just starting to grow?

Complete Rules, Details, and Entry Form (.pdf)

Submit contest entries via fax, e-mail, US Mail, or hand delivery to:

Richland Soil and Water Conservation District
2020 Hampton Street, Room 3063A
Columbia, SC 29204
Phone: (803) 576-2080
Fax: (803) 576-2088
E-mail: RichlandSWCD@gmail.com

Join Richland County in celebrating Arbor Day on Friday, December 2, 2016!

Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of state government under the local direction of five-member Boards of Commissioners.  The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District promotes the wise use of natural resources for the benefit of the citizens of Richland County.

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