First Annual “Grey to Green” Essay Writing Competition 2011
Sponsored by Coordinating Team – 4th Annual Grey to Green Festival
September 10, 2011
Wick Park, Youngstown, Ohio
www.greytogreenfestival.org
Who Cares? My Personal Commitment to Action for Sustainable Living
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Winners of the
First Annual “Grey to Green” Essay Writing Competition 2011
$300 to #2 New, Improved and Environmentally Friendly Youngstown, by YSU Freshman, Sarah Perrine
$200 to #3 Bottled Up, Kayla Boye. $100 to #5 high school student’s A Greener Youngstown? A Greener Diet, Robin Goist $100 to #6 Non-Profit Org, “Back to Center” Daniel Mamula, Mahoning River Corridor Initiative
$100 to #4 Youngstown’s very own Eco Mom, Stacie Lynn Willis
Thanks to everyone who entered our first essay contest….see you next year!”
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ABOUT THE CONTEST:
The environment is an important topic to almost everyone these days. Celebrities, politicians, and a host of very vocal organizations and movements have championed environmental causes. Documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth are increasingly popular and more people are aware of environmental issues now than ever before. Concerns about global climate change in the long-term and the cost of fuel in the short-term are pushing more and more people to consider going green.
Have you ever thought about ways to help the Mahoning Valley become more earth-friendly? Our theme is Toward 2020: How can the Mahoning Valley become more earth-friendly –who will help do it? Youngstown has gained national and international recognition as a city that has embraced the reality of being a shrinking city. Aware we will not grow in numbers, we work to improve the quality of life as a smaller place. Shrinking the physical footprint of the city offers many opportunities for building a greener economy. But, according to a July 13, 2011 Vindicator article entitled Youngstown’s green economy: region struggles to create clean jobs, while our region is creating new jobs, the growth in green jobs places us 90th out of 100, while Ohio as a state ranks sixth.
Tying our concerns as a shrinking city with the larger issues of the environment, global climate change and jobs is a challenge for all of us. How can we as a city and region move ahead in ways that will provide more jobs, reduce our carbon footprint, and improve our region? We invite you to write an essay describing things you are doing or agree to do in the next year to help meet this challenge. We will read some of the essays at the Festival, and award prizes for winners.
The Grey to Green Festival is September 10, 2011 from 10 AM to 5 PM at Wick Park on Youngstown’s Historic Northside. We are offering prizes for various writers at many levels. This will include prizes given that day and follow-up prizes awarded at next year’s event for those who carry out the action(s) they describe in their essay. Many people can write inspiring essays for making our community more earth-friendly. Maybe you plan to organize a “walk to school” rally on Earth Day, or have a plan to raise money for a bike path in your town, or maybe you’re an architectural student planning to incorporate green building ideas into your designs. Maybe you can cut back to one car if you have more than one, or organize days to ride together some days or promote local food in your school cafeteria or go paperless. Or, install energy efficient heating, power or cooling at your home, business or company. A lot of small changes can add up to a big change as a region. Anyone who cares about the environment and can back it up with a great essay about their commitment to action has a chance to be a winner of the First Grey to Green Essay Contest (2011).
Topic: Who Cares? My Personal Commitment to Action for Sustainable Living
Contest Rules and Deadlines
There is a Grand Prize of $300, a Great Prize of $200, and 10 Outstanding Prizes of $100 for each of the 10 categories. Awards of $150, $100 and $50 for each category with a peck of local apples will be given at the festival on Sept. 10 at 12:50 PM and the other portion will be awarded at the 2012 Festival to those who carry out their plans and submit a brief statement, photo, news story, etc. about what you did during the year to carry out an environmentally helpful commitment.
Who Cares? My Personal Commitment to Action for Sustainable Living
What will you do in 2011/2012 to green Youngstown and/or your community?
Eligibility: All persons who fit one of the following categories and live in the Lake to River food shed of 150 miles from Wick Park in Youngstown, Ohio.
1. Elementary School-aged Student
2. Middle School-aged Student
3. High School-aged Student
4. Adult (18 and over)
Or essays submitted for a project by one of the following:
5. Small to Medium Business owner or worker at business under 200 employees
6. Medium to large business owner or worker at business of over 200 employees
7. Non-profit organization, agency, school, school classroom, student or service groups, etc.
8. Elected public official
9. Municipality, Village, Township, County or other public jurisdiction
10. Faith or Spiritual Based organization
Deadline: Entries must be received no later than 5:00 PM ET on September 7, 2011. Email essays (and questions) to Betsy Johnquest at ejohnquest@yahoo.com. You will receive a confirmation by email. Or, mail your essay postmarked by September 5, 2011 to: Betsy Johnquest, 27 N. Richview Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 44509.
Submission Requirements: Limit one entry per person or group. Festival Coordinators, family, or judges’ families or others with a conflict of interest are not eligible to apply but are still encouraged to make personal commitments for “Action for Sustainable Living”.
Cover page. This separate page must include the following information:
- Title
- Author’s name (or Group name with contact person)
- Author’s address and e-mail and phone if available. If you use the e-mail or phone of a friend give their name too, please
- Eligibility Category
- Date submitted
Format. Submissions may be no less than 500 words and no more than 1000 words, double-spaced, 8.5 x 11-inch page format with 12-point font, Times New Roman. Submissions may be made by email attachment in Microsoft Word format. In special cases you can submit a handwritten essay of up to three pages. Call in advance about this and write legibly.
Criteria and Publication: The prize will be awarded to the author(s) of the works that, in the judgment of The Grey to Green Essay Committee, best advances the awareness of environmental issues in the Mahoning Valley. The committee reserves the right to determine that no submission will receive the prize in some categories.
All submitted essays will be archived by the Grey to Green festival, so keep a copy for yourself. Thank you in advance. You can talk with others to help refine your ideas, but please have the essay be your own work.
