RECOGNIZING ACHIEVEMENT
The AISWCD encourages you to help shine a spotlight on conservation difference-makers. Award winners are recognized at our Annual Meeting & Summer Training Conference. Use these links for 2024 nominations:
- Conservation Teacher of the Year Award
- Conservation Woman of the Year Award
- Outstanding Forestry Contribution Award
- SWCD Director Service Award
- SWCD Director of the Year Award
- Conservation Farm Family of the Year Award
- George McKibben Memorial scholarship application
- Illinois SWCD Employee Association scholarship application
POSTER CONTEST
The 2024 deadline is past, and winners for “May The Forest Be With You Always” will be announced at the 2024 conference. Hold, please for 2025 contest information. For reference, here’s 2024 info until next year’s updates are complete …
2024 National Association of Conservation Districts Stewardship Week. The educational materials are available for FREE download. More details may be found on the NACD Contest website. Teachers: here’s some resources to integrate the contest into the curriculum | Empowering Actions lesson plan | Tree Life Cycle activity. Each Soil & Water Conservation District is welcome to host local 2024 poster and photo competitions.
The AISWCD Auxiliary’s annual POSTER Contest is open to public, private, and home-schooled students – K-12th grade – and must be hosted through a district office. The winning posters in each district must be scanned (quality of submissions is for judging) and emailed along with a poster entry form for each by May 15, 2024 to the AISWCD office via info@aiswcd.org
All winning District submissions will be included in the State Competition during the June Quarterly Board of Directors meeting in Springfield. A separate poster entry form must accompany each entry, preferably scanned at the same time as the entry piece. All student entries must include a parental signature to move forward.
__________
The AISWCD Auxiliary’s annual Photo Contest is open to all amateur photographers who reside in Illinois. Contestants are allowed to enter as many as five photos each that fit into one of these following four categories.
The winning photos in each district must be scanned (quality of submissions is for judging) and emailed along with a separate photo entry form for each piece by May 15, 2024 to the AISWCD office to info@aiswcd.org.
The winning district submissions will be included in the state competition during the June Quarterly Board of Directors meeting in Springfield. A separate photo entry form must accompany each entry, preferably scanned at the same time as the entry piece. All student entries must include a parental signature to move forward. One winner will be selected for each category and age division (adults are 19 and older as of December 1, 2024.)
As a new addition this year, NACD is introducing a Braille Poster Contest for students who are blind or with vision loss, and an Additional Assist Poster Contest for students who may benefit from additional assistance with creating their posters. Public, private, and home-schooled students are all invited to create posters that celebrate inclusivity and conservation. As a reminder, districts must submit a JPEG of their winning posters, along with a poster entry form, by May 15, 2024, to the AISWCD Office at info@AISWCD.org to be judged at the June Quarterly Board Meeting.