San Juan Youth Poetry Contest
MSI is excited to host the 2026 San Juan Youth Poetry Contest! This poetry contest is open to grades 6th-12th and will have two categories of submissions: middle and high school students. The focus of the contest is any piece related to your experience outside in the San Juan Mountains. The contest will be open for submission from August 31st to October 2nd, 2026. There will be a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner from both middle and high school submissions with prizes from local companies including Pine Needle, The Boarding Haus, and Maria’s Book Store.
Please read below for contest guidelines. We look forward to reading your work!
Contest Guidelines
All participants must be in middle or high school, grades 6th- 12th.
Poems must focus on environmental topic of students choosing. Can be an experience, a natural resource, or anything related to the San Juan Mountains.
Must be self-written, NO AI use allowed.
Poems can be any length and style.
Students must submit poem through google form below no later than Friday October 2nd, 2026.
Teachers are allowed to help with submissions. If submitting for a whole class, please a folder with your class submissions to jewell@mountainstudies.org. Please label folder with teacher name and grade. (Smith_6th)
Winners will be selected for two submission groups - Middle and High School - with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place (six winners total).
Submitted poems will be evaluated through a rubric by a coordinated group of volunteers made up of local writers and environmentalists.
All submissions will be invited to present their poem at MSI’s annual San Juan Resilience Youth Summit in February 2027, giving students the opportunity to present their work to an authentic audience of peers and community members.
Winning poems will be displayed at Durango Public Library and distributed to local radio stations. A winners ceremony will be held on November 13th from 5PM-7PM at Durango Public Library.
Prizes will be from local businesses such as Pine Needle, the Boarding Haus, Maria’s Bookshop, and more!
Are you interested in being a contest evaluator? Sign up below!
Evaluator Responsibilities:
Attend an evaluator meeting to go over contest rules and expectations.
Use the San Juan Youth Poetry Contest rubric to help guide your evaluations during the month of October.
Send MSI your finished evaluations by October 16th for final review.
