The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales is running a children’s poetry competition, called WILDWords, for World Poetry Day.

The trust hopes to inspire writers aged 16 and under by asking them to write about what nature means to them, their experiences in nature, and why nature is important.

With the ongoing climate crisis, there couldn’t be a better time to unite the younger generation in the fight for our planet.

The Wildlife Trust’s vision is to protect at least 30 per cent of our land and sea for nature’s recovery before 2030.

By encouraging young people to connect with nature, the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales wants to encourage the next generation of conservationists.

The competition is in celebration of World Poetry Day, March 21 and is the perfect opportunity for budding scientists to show-off their creativity. Children in South and West Wales will have the opportunity to enter their poems about nature into the competition to be in with a chance to win a signed copy of Dan Rouse’s new book, The Children’s Book of Birdwatching, and have their poem featured on the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales media channels.

Awards will be presented by the trust’s badger mascot on March 21 to the winning child.

Poems may be entered in English or Welsh, before the March 6, and will be judged by an expert panel of writers, scientists, and nature advocates, including author and ornithologist, Dan Rouse.

A representative from Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales said: “We’re excited to see how children use their creativity to express their experience of the natural world, somewhere which we hold so close to our hearts.

“We want to read all about what nature means to them, their experiences with nature, and why nature is important.

“Every child has a little bit of wanting to ‘save the world’ in them, this could just be their first step.”

To enter, visit https://www.welshwildlife.org/wild-words-poetry-competition