Jesse Smith ’20 was named winner of the New Mexico Leopold Writing Contest for students in grades 11 and 12. This year’s contest asked students to write about how they think people should relate to water resources.
Students were encouraged to read “The Land Ethic” and other essays in A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.
In her essay, Jesse describes her impressions of water needs based on family experiences, her work with a Youth Conservation Corps crew, and research. “Creating a personal water ethic, and developing that into a universal water ethic, is the first step to protecting and conserving water resources and reducing the consequences of extreme usage and damage,” she wrote.
Trees to honor the contest winners will be planted in the Aldo Leopold bosque on the east bank of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque.
The mission of the Leopold Writing Program is to build on Leopold’s legacy as a writer by inspiring young people to participate in the evolution of environmental ethics through the written word. For more information, visit www.LeopoldWritingProgram.org.
