A student at Holy Sepulcher Catholic School recently won third place out of 2,700 entries in an essay contest aimed at encouraging youngsters to think about green space in their community.

Luke Benkart, an eighth-grader at the Middlesex Township school, won a $750 cash prize for an essay he entered in TurfMutt’s “The (Really) Great Outdoors” competition, according to a press release.

He and other essayists designed a nature space to serve their community. They could do so using words, drawings or a combination of the two.

Benkart’s essay described an area with trails, waterfalls and playgrounds. He included both a drawing and an essay.

“Nature is one of the most beautiful things we have to enjoy in our world,” Benkart’s essay reads.

The student’s teacher, Dorothy Johnson, also gets a $125 prize, as does the school.

Benkart actually tied for third place with another eighth-grader. The other student is at Braden River Middle School in Bradenton, Fla.

The TurfMutt environmental education program is funded and managed by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute Research and Education Foundation.