The Magazine of The Sierra Club
The Sierra Seedlings Youth Essay Contest
Pick a park. Take a hike. Then write about it—you just might get published in Sierra magazine!
Choose a state or national park, or just a neighborhood park near you, go explore, and then write an essay about what the experience was like and why protecting that natural area is important to you.
Deadline for submissions: June 1, 2026
Maximum word count: 1,500
Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club, is an award-winning publication focused on stories about exploring, protecting, and living in harmony with the natural world. We specialize in eco-literary nature writing that features sparkling storytelling and captivating photography and original illustrations. In our quarterly national print and digital edition and on Sierramagazine.org, we report on the issues that matter most to our planet.
In 2025, the magazine launched "Seedlings," a special issue for young readers and families, and plans to publish it every summer. This year, to coincide with the second “Seedlings,” we are hosting a national essay contest in partnership with the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign. We invite young writers up to age 18 to craft an essay or reported story about public lands that matter to them. At a time when these lands need our protection more than ever, we encourage young people to visit a local state or national park (or any other wild place in nature), take a few photos, and write about their time there, then submit their work to us.
The winning essay will be published in the digital edition of the Summer 2026 “Seedlings” issue. The runner-up will be published with an honorable mention on our website.
Sierra Club Florida shows love for its state parks while successfully campaigning for the State Park Preservation Act.
The Sierra Seedling Youth Writing Contest is made possible by the generous support of Nocs Provisions, a maker of outdoor optics. Together, we believe that when young people notice more, they care more about protecting the places they love.