In 2021 we asked young people across Wyoming to imagine their lives in the year 2030 and describe what that would look like should all their dreams for the state come through. The Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming along with Wyoming2030, the Wyoming Afterschool Alliance & the Wyoming Council for the Humanities teamed up to host a contest seeking narrative submissions that tell the story of young people’s hopes for Wyoming’s future.

We asked them to be creative. Paint a picture of their ideal vision for their life in the state of Wyoming nine years from now. We asked them to tell the story of what they wished for the future of Wyoming—to think about how they and their community fit within that future and what it will take to get there. We asked them to draw on their own experiences, values, and imagination to respond to current challenges facing the state and articulate a vision for a prosperous, resilient future Wyoming. Here are the winners.