BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-09)

32 BBC Wildlife

Attheheightoflockdown,BBCWildlife

wasproudtosupportanaturewriting

competitionforchildren,promisingto

publishthewinningentries.Competition

organiserLucyMcRobertexplainswhysuch

thingsmatterintimeslikethese...

The Apple

Tree

O

nceupona time,ina landnotveryfar

away,allthechildrenwerestuckindoors,

withnoschoolandnofriendstoplaywith...

Naturewritingis a powerfulway

toconnectwiththenaturalworld.In

literature,wildlifeandwildplacesoftenrepresentour

deepestsouls,especiallyintroubledtimes.Aswewent

intolockdown,I feltsorryforchildrenandfamiliesnow

disconnectedfromeachotherandfromwildplaces.

InApril,I teamedupwithwildlifewriters,

champions,publishersandbusinessestorunthe

NatureonyourDoorstepwildwritingcompetition.

Childrenandteenagersaged4–17wereinvitedto

submitstoriesaboutwildlifeoutsidetheirwindows,

andhundredsresponded.

Allthejudgeslaughed,criedandlearnedlots,too.

Thediversityofstories– fromdifferentbackgrounds,

agesandculturesacrosstheUK– madefora magical

experience.Theyshowedusdifferentwaystoenjoy

nature.Childrenwhostruggledwithwritingwere

motivatedtowriteforthefirsttime.Theymighthave

dyslexia,orEnglishasa secondlanguage,yetthey

producedbeautiful,imaginativeideas.

Weheardfromchildrenwhohavebeenbullied,who

wereshieldingduetoillnesses,whowereseparated

fromparentsbecauseofcoronavirus.

WewereblownawaywhenTVpresentersChris

PackhamandMeganMcCubbinannouncedthe

winnersliveontheirSelf-IsolatingBirdClubonline

show.It’sa delighttoseethewinningstoriespublished

andI hopethatthiswillsetourworthywinnersoffon

writingcareersinspiredbynature!

I

t was a sunny day –

perfect for hopscotch,

skipping and, most

importantly, gardening,

whichis exactly what Emily

Swiftwas doing. She was

onherknees, digging and

planting,diggingandplanting. Emily liked the

repetitionofit.If shewasbored or unhappy,

youwouldfindherinthegarden, listening to

thebirdsongandrunningher hands over the

softbarkoftheappletree.It would tell her of

everysingleappleit hadgrown, describing

howeachonehadbeencarefully crafted,

greenandred,andhowit had been specially

picked,readyforjamorcrumble.

IllustrationsbyEllyWalton

ByAnnaStone,age 11

WINNERAGE7–11

on your doorstep

LUCY McROBERT is a nature writer and storyteller

NATURE