Calling all high school students across the region! The Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD) invites you to participate in this year’s Speak-Off, an annual speech competition where 9th - 12th graders address critical natural resource issues. While past Speak-Off contests have been facilitated in-person, this year’s process is a combination of video creation and in-person speech delivery, all responding to the prompt: “What is the role of agriculture in meeting California’s Climate goals?”
This year’s competition is more exciting than ever, where participants can win up to $1,520 through placing in local, regional, and state-level contests. The competition kicks off at the local level, where IERCD invites students living within their service area to submit a 3-5 minute recorded video responding to the prompt no later than 11:59 PM on Friday, September 27th. A panel of conservation experts will review the entries and select the top 3 contestants, who will then move on to an in-person competition on Thursday, October 16th. Here, the winners will be announced, and the first-place speaker will be awarded $1,000 and move on to the regional contest. This next part of the competition will be held virtually on October 30th and offers an additional $200 prize.
The regional winner will advance to the state contest, held in person on December 12th at the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts' Annual Conference in Sacramento. IERCD will cover all travel expenses for the regional winner and their chaperone to attend, giving them the unique opportunity to immerse themselves among conservation professionals and compete against other top students from across the state. The top three students at the state level will take home additional cash prizes.
If you know a talented teen with a passion for the environment, this is an incredible opportunity for them to shine! Encourage them to apply and make their voice heard. Not only will they learn more about California’s agriculture and climate goals, but they’ll also be offering real solutions that Resource Conservation Districts can put into action.
For more details and to submit your video, visit www.iercd.org/speak-off. Don’t miss your chance to speak up and stand out!