January 14th

By Mutt Mulligan

TurfMutt Foundation announces The (Really) Great Outdoor Contest 2020

The TurfMutt Foundation has launched The (Really) Great Outdoors Contest 2020. It is focused on urging kids to use their imaginations around the many uses and benefits of green space and the outdoors. Open to students in grades 6-8, last year’s contest drew over 2,700 submissions from middle school youth.

About the contest.

Created in partnership with Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, the contest encourages students to write about and/or draw a nature space their community could use. Students are also asked to include text to describe the space, discuss what elements are needed, and describe how their space will be used to benefit the community. Each entry can be no more than three pages.

“We mean it when we say nature starts at your back door. Introducing kids to the outdoors is good for them and good for all of us,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the TurfMutt Foundation and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. “Family yards, school yards and parks are part of a vast ecosystem that supports all of us. The contest helps the next generation envision how people—wherever they may live—can spend time outside.”

Last year’s contest was open to middle schoolers for the first time. “Our winners last year imagined beautiful and, more importantly, functional and purposeful designs for green spaces,” said Kiser.

“We want kids to understand that our lawns and green spaces are urban habitats. These spaces are critical to wildlife, pollinators, and the health and well-being of communities,” said Kiser. “They need to picture themselves within those green spaces—and the contest is a great way for them to do that.”

$10,000 in prizes will be awarded!

• Grand prize: $2,500 (teacher and the school each receive $750)
• First-place: $2,000 (teacher and the school each receive $500)
• Second-place: $1,500 (teacher and the school each receive $250)
• Third-place: $750 (teacher and the school each receive $125)

How to enter.

Teachers can download lesson plans and contest entry information here. Entries can be accepted online and uploaded by teachers, or mailed in by teachers or students. Entries are due March 16, 2020. Last year’s winning entries are available online for viewing.

About the TurfMutt Foundation.

The program’s educational materials are free and support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) standards for grades K–8. The TurfMutt environmental education program, funded and managed by OPEI’s Research and Education Foundation, has reached 70 million students, teachers, and families since 2009.