Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown with the Poem Forest shortlisted poets (from left) Isabela, Zoe, Charlie, Adon and Daisy. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
Berkeley’s Holborn Park has just become a little more greener, thanks to students who love writing poems.
More than 400 budding Illawarra poets entered the fifth Poem Forest prize, a nationwide nature writing prize that aims to encourage students and teachers to use the power of poetry to make positive climate action.
For every entry received, a seedling is planted in the Wollongong local government area. Since council’s partnership in 2023, more than 18,000 trees have been planted.
Of the five Illawarra students whose entries were shortlisted among almost 4000 from around Australia, two won their categories and two received highly commended awards.
In the Lower Primary (Kindergarten to Year 3) category, Wollongong Public School Year 3 student Charlie G was the winner. Charlie also received a highly commended in the new category of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and was the winner of the Wollongong Community Greening Local Prize area for his poem, The Patient Thread.
Zoe M from St John’s Primary School received a highly commended in the Upper Primary Section (Year 4 to Year 6) for her entry, Coveted Country.
Stanwell Park Public School’s Adon R is the inaugural winner of the Primary First Nations award for his poem Biliirr.
Mt Ousley Public School Year 6 student Isabela C received a Wollongong Community Greening Local Highly Commended prize for her poem, Torment in Grief.
The five young poets recently gathered at Holborn Park along with representatives from Wollongong City Council and Red Room Poetry, where they helped to start plant 4000 new trees in the park – one for every entry received nationwide.
Charlie and Isabela plant some of the 4000 seedlings in Holborn Park. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
Botanic Garden curator Felicity Skoberne said she was “blown away” by the growth of the prize over the past few years, which inspired the addition of the new categories.
“We’re determined to grow our ever-popular poetry program so that it can celebrate and empower diverse young voices in our community,” she said.
“That’s why the introduction of the new prize categories has been so special. It was awesome to see some of our local students enter this category and we’re so inspired by their poem readings.
“This competition shows our young people how powerful their words can be.
“For their poem, they get to plant a seedling, which serves as a permanent reminder of their meaningful contribution to a greener Wollongong. Some of the trees we planted here last year have just thrived and I look forward to seeing more seedlings be added.”
For the first time, entrants had to write to a theme, which was ‘Understory’.
Students were encouraged to uncover the hidden parts of the natural world and themselves.
All shortlist and winning entries are on the Red Room Poetry site or click on the students’ names to read their poems: Charlie G – The Patient Thread; Isabela C – Torment in Grief; Adon P – Biliirr; Daisy W – Spring; Zoe M – Coveted Country
