VERMONT ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
3rd ANNUAL EARTH DAY ESSAY CHALLENGE 2023
CLICK HERE TO READ STUDENTS' 2023 Earth Day Essays
CLICK HERE TO READ STUDENTS’ 2022 Earth Day Essays
CLICK HERE TO READ STUDENTS’ 2021 Earth Day Essays
NOTE: THIS YEAR’S EARTH DAY ESSAY CHALLENGE IS COMPLETE
Please click here for a press release on this year’s event
Thanks to All Who Participated this Year!
The Vermont Attorney General wants to hear from young Vermonters about the environment. The Attorney General’s Office holds an Earth Day Essay Challenge that asks 5th and 6th graders all around Vermont to submit essays on the environment.
Essay Topics: 5th and 6th graders are encouraged to be creative and to write about their thoughts on Earth Day and Vermont’s environment. Suggestions include: What do you love about Vermont’s environment – clean air, wildlife, its lakes, rivers, and mountains? How do you enjoy Vermont’s environment? What do you care most about with the environment? What does Earth Day mean to you? What are your concerns about the future of Vermont’s environment? How does Vermont’s changing environment impact outdoor recreation, winter sports, wildlife habitat, farming, our health, or other things? What do you think we should do to help protect the environment? You do not need to cover any or all of these topics—these are just ideas!
How to Submit? Essays should be no more than 1,000 words. Please include your name, school (or indicate home school), grade and teacher with your submission. Essays can be submitted electronically to the Attorney General’s Office by email to natasha.sala@vermont.gov or by mail to: Vermont Attorney General, Attn: Environmental Protection Unit,109 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602. If sending via email, please attached the essay to the email as a Word or PDF document.
What Else? All essay submissions will be posted on the Attorney General’s Office’s public website unless a participant wishes to not have their essay posted. Essays will be posted on Earth Day. Posted essays will include a participants first name only and their school and grade.
Participants will also be entered in a drawing to have the Attorney General pay a virtual visit the student’s classroom.
The Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Division will read all essays and provide individual feedback to each person who submits an essay. (Please indicate in your submission if you prefer not to receive feedback.)
For Teachers: 5th and 6th grade teachers who have students participating in the essay challenge and who would like to have an Environmental Protection Division attorney speak with their class about the environmental work of the Attorney General’s Office virtually during the event period should contact Natasha Sala at natasha.sala@vermont.gov.