Create & Conserve: What Makes a Quality Entry? | Bobcat Blog

Every June when schools let out, summer approaches, and temperatures rise, we get to work on Create & Conserve. With the help of Bobcat® equipment, we’re able to partner with Rick and Julie Kreuter from “Beyond the Hunt” to transform one contest winner’s land into a remarkable place where native plants and animals will thrive for generations into the future.

With the 2017 Create & Conserve contest entry period approaching this fall, we thought we’d share some thoughts on what we look for in a winning entry so you can get a head start:

• Can we envision the end result well enough to judge your entry? We rely on the information you supply, as well as supplemental photography to screen the top entries from the thousands that come in. Paint a picture in our minds. Some of the previous entries had just a few sentences and no photography, giving us little to judge their merits.
• Can the project be accomplished in a week? Describe what you hope to accomplish on your property. Practically speaking, we allow ourselves 4 to 5 working days to complete the various conservation projects. Previous years’ project included:
  • Creating a conservation plot
  • Developing a three-and-a-half mile trail
  • Installing drain tile
  • Repairing a water eroded hill
• Can the project be done using Bobcat® compact equipment? If your goal is to move a mountain or clear a forest, it probably cannot be done with Bobcat equipment (at least in a week) and won’t qualify for Create & Conserve. If you do have a project that you think would take longer than a week, show us what you would like to accomplish if you won. It’s OK to have large goals for your land, but show us how we can help in the week we are there.
• Do you need professional photography? No, but suitable photography will help us visualize the setting and what you hope to accomplish. If you’ve started some projects show us what has been done. When shooting the photos take wide shots so the judges can see the potential for the property.
• Do you have to own Bobcat equipment to win the Create & Conserve contest? We’d love to have you as a Bobcat equipment owner, but that factor will neither qualify nor disqualify you.
• Will the sustainability efforts continue on the property once the Bobcat crew leaves? We want to partner with a land owner who has a passion for land sustainability. The winner should be someone who is willing to sustain what we create and expand on it to make it last for decades. We hope this is not just a land-clearing project, but something that will enhance the land and provide a better habitat for wildlife.

Watch the winning videos to get some ideas for your 2017 Create & Conserve contest entry. Here are links to the 2015 video, 2014 video and 2013 video. You can also check out the photos below to see what images previous winners have submitted. Perhaps your story will be the next one we feature!

The 2017 Create & Conserve contest entry period is from Oct. 1 ― Jan. 31. Follow us on Facebook for up-to-date information on the 2017 contest. We’re excited to get to work.