Rules for Nature Inspired Poetry Contest

Eligibility: The “Why I Love this Wild Animal” Poetry Contest (“Poetry Contest”) is open only to youth serving organizations in Indiana. Youth-serving organizations such as schools, classrooms, after-school programs, churches, clubs or scouts are invited to submit poetry by their students or members. Employees, Board Members and Trustees of The Nature Conservancy, as well as immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of those employees, Board Members and Trustees of The Nature Conservancy are not eligible to enter.

Sponsor: The Poetry Contest is sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203-1606 (“Sponsor”).
Entry Period: The Poetry Contest begins at 12:00am EST on November 1, 2016 and ends at 11:59 pm EST on January 27, 2017.

What to Enter: For the Poetry Contest they ask that you follow the prompt: “Why I Love this Wild Animal” that is provided on the Children of Indiana Nature Park website. They want to see how well you follow the prompt and what creative poems you can write from it as inspiration. Entrant organizations must have rights to the poem sufficient to provide TNC with a license to use the poem as set forth under Your Rights below. Potential Winners will be asked to provide proof of ownership and/or permission to TNC to use the poem as set forth below under Your Rights.

• Please do not include the following:
  Poems that violate or infringe upon another person or being’s rights, including but not limited to copyright.
• Poems that contain sexually explicit, nude, obscene, violent or other objectionable or inappropriate content.

The Nature Conservancy shall determine entry eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion.

How to Enter: All entries must be submitted through the Children of Indiana Nature Park email address: childrenofindiananaturepark@tnc.org. All submissions should plainly state the youth serving organization submitting the poem and include a contact name, phone number, email and address. Organizations may submit multiple entries. Sponsor reserves the right to reject any additional entry or entries that do not comply with these Official Rules. By entering, you indicate your unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding. You cannot win a prize unless you comply with all requirements in these Official Rules.

Judging: Poems will be judged on creativity and for exemplifying the theme of “Why I Love this Wild Animal.” Judging will be conducted by a panel of Conservancy employees and a group of guest judges to be selected by the Conservancy at its sole discretion (the “Panel”). The Panel will evaluate all valid  entries and pick three (3) overall winners whose submission best exemplifies the theme and demonstrates creativity. The winner will be notified of their status within 10 days of the close of the entry period.

All judging decisions are final. Please do not contact us about the status of entries or judging. The Nature Conservancy will notify the winner via the contact information provided at the time of entry. Potential Winner Requirements: Except where prohibited, a potential winner may be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within 5 days. If a potential winner is a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian will be required to sign the documents on his/her behalf. If a potential winner fails to return these documents on time, an alternate potential winner may be selected in his/her place in a random drawing of all remaining entries received. Only three (3) alternate potential winners may be contacted.

Prize: Three (3) winners will receive a visit by Indiana’s Poet Laureate Shari Wagner to their organization’s classroom, school, library or youth center. Visits to winning organizations will be made according to the schedule and availability of Shari Wagner. The approximate retail value of each prize (i.e., visit) is $100. Additionally, selected poems may be featured on the Children of Indiana Nature Park website, the Children of Indiana Nature Park Facebook page or the State Poet Laureate’s website Through the Sycamores.

For full contest rules, click here.