"Land is My Life"

The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, today announced winners of a video contest supporting local land conservation.

First place in the “Land is My” video contest goes to Stephen Ramirez of San Marcos, Texas. His video, “Land is My Life,” is a poetic montage of the many ways he experiences the land. Ramirez will be awarded $4,000 for his entry, which judges hailed for its originality, quality and compelling nature. Ramirez plans to donate the prize money to the San Marcos River Foundation in Texas.
“Participating in the ‘Land is My’ video contest has been a rewarding opportunity to reflect on my own connection with land and share that passion with my community,” Ramirez said. “A big ‘thank you’ to the Land Trust Alliance and everyone who liked, shared and voted for my video.”

As part of winning the contest, Ramirez additionally was allowed to designate a land trust to receive $10,000 directly from the Land Trust Alliance. He chose the accredited Texas Land Conservancy, where he works as stewardship director.
“Texas Land Conservancy would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the Land Trust Alliance for creating the ‘Land is My’ video contest and to Stephen Ramirez for inspiring us with his video, which highlights just a few of the ways he enjoys our beautiful Texas lands,” said Mark Steinbach, the conservancy’s executive director. “We plan to use this prize money to continue our community conservation efforts, connecting kids and adults to the beauty of the natural world and to each other.”
Hosted at www.landismy.org and promoted through the hashtag #LandIsMy, the contest gave United States residents age 13 or older the opportunity to showcase an outdoor space that is meaningful to them. Finalists among the 75 submitted videos were judged on their originality, demonstration of how the subject is connected to the land, compelling nature and overall quality.

Second place and $2,000 goes to Caleb Howard of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for his video, “Land is My Soul.” Third place and $1,000 goes to Curt Johnsen of Rockford, Illinois, for his video, “Land is My Sustenance.” Each of the winning videos can be viewed at www.landismy.org.
Rob Aldrich, the Alliance’s community conservation director, said the contest helped affirm that when communities support their land trusts, everyone wins.
“We had lots of fun with this contest and know that our member land trusts did, too,” he said. “We’re planning on hosting the contest again next year, so keep an eye out for the next announcement.”

About the Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
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