Devon school pupil wins wildlife poetry competition
Winners of the national poetry competition launched by environmental charity Earthwatch have been announced, with Jamie Carlton from Devon winning a prize in the 8 - 11 year olds category for his ‘Deer’ poem.
The poetry competition was launched as part of a range of events organised by Earthwatch to help families cope with lockdown and remain connected to nature, including a popular online programme of indoor/outdoor learning activities called Wild Days.
The competition ran from 27th April to 17th May with four categories for children aged 7 and under; aged 8 to 11; 12 to 16; and for schools. Jamie was one of three winners in his age group alongside Lucy Farrell from Sunderland and Aimee Berkhoff from Cheshire.
Winners receive nature nurturing gift packs containing different items including packets of wildflower seeds and mini-nature kits; a copy of ‘Diary of a Naturalist’ by Dara McAnulty, a 16-year-old naturalist, field guidebooks from Princeton University Press’s ‘WildGuide’ series, encouraging families to explore and engage with nature again when the lockdown is over, plus signed copies of Nick Baker’s ‘Baker’s Bug Book’ or Michaela Strachan’s ‘Really Wild Adventures’.
Michaela Strachan, who presented the Really Wild Show was the head judge for the poetry competition, leading a panel of judges which included Nick Baker, Michaela’s co-presenter on the Really Wild Show; Mya-Rose Craig, the world’s top teen birder; and Bella Lack a 17-year-old conservationist and blogger with 150K followers on Twitter.
Recent research commissioned from YouGov by Earthwatch has proved that watching nature can help to calm nerves as 67% of people from a sample of 2,000 people in the UK said watching nature leaves them with a sense of calm, something which is especially important during the covid-19 crisis.
The poetry competition, which invited children to write a poem inspired by nature had hundreds of entries and does seem to have struck a chord. Head judge, Michaela Strachan, said:
“Lockdown has been challenging for many kids, but it's brought out the creative side as well, and this poetry competition has given a way to express that creativity and connection with the natural world.”
In the judge’s comments Michaela said: “This was so beautiful and almost romantic. It had a lovely unique flair and a beautiful use of poetic language. Loved the phrase ‘forest brave heart’.”
The two verses of Jamie’s poem are reproduced with permission here:
Deer leaps and bounds through the broad forest
A brown flash in the light, his shadow never seen.
This brown-blur, forest brave-heart
Swift-footed, crowned with antlers.
Each day when sun comes up, he forages at forests edge,
then he’s off, back into the shadowed depths
of mighty Oaks, graceful Ash and grey barked Hazel
This place where he lives, a wonderous land.
Mya-Rose, 18, is an ambassador for Earthwatch’s Wild Days programme and a member of the judging panel. She commented:
“I’m so glad I was able to judge this competition, I had a really lovely time reading them all and it was a genuine challenge to pick my favourites in the end! I could feel how passionate all the writers were about nature through their writing and feel very hopeful about the next generation of young naturalists.”
Mya-Rose was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bristol University for her pioneering work campaigning for greater diversity in conservation and writes her own poetry. She recorded a special video to encourage children to take part in the Earthwatch competition and enjoy nature no matter whether they live in a city, town or tiny village.
Sarah Staunton-Lamb, Earthwatch’s Senior Engagement Manager, said: “Thank you to everyone who took part, children and parents who helped, and please, please keep watching, writing about and caring for our natural world.”
