YouTube and National Geographic are providing creative eco-minds from around the world to take part in a unique Planet Inspired competition focused on nature and win worthy prizes. The core idea of the initiative is to spread the word about the importance of eco protection among the video-hosting website visitors with the help of…  their own creativity. The participants of the contest are encouraged to submit their video collages highlighting one of the four themes—Oceans, Endangered Species, Fresh Water, or Exploration—to raise awareness about the problem and call the people who will be watching the film to active action.

The entrants can use the images and video clips from the Planet Inspired website or make it using their own footage. The finished works (up to one minute long and no more than four spots form one person) are to be submitted by November 15—after that a panel of experts will shortlist the participants to 10, the finalists will be announced and public voting will be running December 3-12. YouTube is to name the winner on December 17—he or she will be invited to a National Geographic Weekend Photography Workshop in New York City, Washington, D.C., or San Francisco and also get a $1,000 gift certificate from The North Face.

In case the visitors to the Planet Inspired hub do not want to tap into the project, but still want to contribute to the cause they can do it by donating to the National Geographic fund. Just like with the competition, donators are asked to choose the ‘passion’ and decide whether they will support projects focused on animal protection and tackling environmental issues, or will contribute to providing fresh water and support exploration. To see the whole range of National Geographic initiatives, go to the donate.nationalgeographic.org page.

The first entries are already submitted to the Planet Inspired platform—here are some of them: