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Arkansas students ages 10 to 17 can enter a new state essay contest about their own outdoor adventures, with prizes that include a lifetime hunting and fishing license.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched the My Natural State Story contest on Aug. 26 alongside the state Department of Education, the Game and Fish Commission and the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
Entries are due Monday, Oct. 12. Students submit online at mynaturalstatestory.com.
Essays can run up to 500 words and must describe a real outdoor experience the student had in Arkansas. Writers are asked to say where it happened, what they did and why it mattered to them.
Any essay that uses AI-generated text is automatically disqualified.
Students pick one of seven categories: hunting, fishing, boating or paddling, climbing, cycling or mountain biking, camping, or hiking. Entrants compete in one of two age groups, 10 to 13 and 14 to 17.
That works out to 14 category winners. Two more students, one from each age group, take the top honor of My Natural State Story of the Year.
All 16 winners get prizes and an invitation to a dinner in their honor at the governor’s mansion.
The prizes come from Arkansas outdoor brands and outfitters. The top winners receive a Game and Fish lifetime hunting and fishing license plus a $500 gift and experience package.
Category prizes range from a $1,000 fishing package to a mountain bike, a Crater of Diamonds family pass, camping gear and two-night stays at state park lodges and campgrounds.
Most of the seven categories are within a short drive of Mountain Home. Trout fishing on the White River, Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes, and the trails and bluffs across the Ozarks all fit what the contest is asking students to write about.
“This contest is about getting kids off screens and outdoors and using the power of storytelling to inspire the next generation to experience everything the Natural State has to offer,” Sanders said.
State officials tied the contest to Arkansas’ tourism economy, which the governor’s office calls the state’s second-largest industry. The office reported 54.3 million visitors last year spending more than $10 billion and directly supporting nearly 72,000 jobs.
The contest follows the Arkansas Outdoor Education Initiative, which the governor launched with Game and Fish last June to introduce students to outdoor recreation and jobs in the outdoor economy.
