National Association of Conservation Districts
NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.
Poster Contest
The annual National Conservation Poster Contest provides kindergarten through twelfth 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 conservation associations, auxiliaries and agencies. The poster contest theme follows the annual Stewardship theme. The contest is co-sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts and the NACD Auxiliary.
Each year, the poster contest starts at the district level. Individuals and teachers with questions regarding district contests should contact their local district. To locate your local district search our state directory. District winners advance to the state level. For questions regarding state competitions, districts should contact their state association. Finally, state winners advance to the National Contest. National winners are recognized each year at the NACD Annual Meeting.
**PLEASE NOTE: Check your state poster contest sponsoring group to determine deadline and theme topic and correct poster size. Each state coordinates their own contest. Posters must follow your state's guidelines to be eligible for the national contest.
Click on the links below for more information regarding the:
2009 "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil" Poster Contest Information
2008 "Water is Life" Poster Contest Information
2008 "Water is Life" Poster Contest
The 2008 Poster contest theme is “Water is Life.” Each entry must have the 2008 Contest Entry Form (linked below) filled out and signed by guardian or parent to be judged. All districts must fill out the District Form and include it with entries to area or state contests. Please note: Only posters judged at the local and state level are eligible for the national contest.
All state poster contest organizers must submit their winning posters for the 2008 contest by December 1, 2008. Winning state posters should be sent to NACD National Poster Contest, Susan Schultz, 968 East 600 North, Greenfield, IN 46140. Posters will only be accepted from state poster contest organizers. Please do not send individual entries directly to the NACD National Poster Contest.
2008 Poster Contest Forms
- 2008 Rules and Eligibility | HTML | PDF |
- 2008 Entry Form | PDF | WORD |
- 2008 District Form - Districts should submit this form with their posters entries to area or state contests.
| PDF |
Other Useful Tools and Information
- Local Poster Contest Ideas | PDF | WORD |
- 2008 Sample Promotion Flyer - This flyer can be modified for your local contest. | WORD |
- 2008 Poster Contest PowerPoint - Use this PowerPoint presentation to promote the 2008 “Water Is Life” Poster Contest. Be sure also to download the notes that go along with the presentation (linked below). The presentation is also adaptable for local speech and essay contests. | PPT | PDF |
NOTE: The PDF version of the PowerPoint presentation above has notes included in the document. To view the notes, scroll over or click on the orange notes bubble in the upper left hand corner of the PDF.
- PowerPoint Presentation Notes | PDF |
- National Visual Arts Standards | PDF |
Questions about the 2008 poster contest? Contact Susan Schultz, NACD Stewardship & Education Coordinator at (317) 326-2952 or email stewardship@nacdnet.org.
2009 "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil" Poster Contest
The 2009 Poster Contest theme is "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil." NACD is using the Dig It! theme in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Soil Science Society of America. This collaboration will complement the Smithsonian "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil," exhibition, which will run July 19, 2008 through January 3, 2010 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. and travel to museums across the United States May 2010 to September 2013.
Each entry must have the 2009 Contest Entry Form (linked below) filled out and signed by guardian or parent to be judged. All local contests must fill out the Local Contest Posters to State Contest Form (linked below) and include it with entries to area or state contests. Please note: Only posters judged at the local and state level are eligible for the national contest.
All state poster contest organizers must submit their winning posters for the 2009 contest by December 1, 2009. Winning state posters should be sent to NACD National Poster Contest, Susan Schultz, 968 East 600 North, Greenfield, IN 46140. Posters will only be accepted from state poster contest organizers. Please do not send individual entries directly to the NACD National Poster Contest.
Questions? Contact Susan Schultz, NACD's Stewardship and Education Coordinator, at stewardship@nacdnet.org.
2009 Cateogories
- Grades K-1
- Grades 2-3
- Grades 4-6
- Grades 4-6** - Poster painted with soil paint
- Grades 7-9
- Grades 10-12
- Grades 10-12** - Poster designed on computer
**Special Category Posters - These categories are optional to state and local contests and not all will offer them. Local contests are welcome to offer the categories locally, but are encouraged to check and see if their state-wide contests will offer them at the state level. Please note, only posters that go through state contests are eligible for the national contest. Do not send posters directly to the national contest.
Prizes
The top two posters in each category of the national contest will receive monetary prizes. First place winners will receive $100 and second place winners will receive $75. Prizes in the regular poster contest categories are sponsored by the NACD Auxiliary and prizes for the special categories are sponsored by the NACD Stewardship and Education Committee.
Entrant Forms, Rules and Background Information
- 2009 Rules, Eligibility and Soils Background Information | PDF |
- 2009 Poster Contest Entry Form | PDF |
Tools and Forms for Local and State Contests
- 2009 Local Contest Posters to State Contest Form - Local and area contests must complete and include this form with the posters they submit to their state contest | PDF |
- 2009 State Winning Posters to National Contest Form - State contests must complete and include this form with their state's winning posters to the national contest | WORD |
- Sample Flyer - This flyer can be modified for your local, area or state contest | WORD |
- Promotional PowerPoint - Download and use this presentation to promote the 2009 poster contest | PPT |