Trust announces Perthshire Wild Poetry winners

More than 40 pupils submitted wonderful poems about 'a watery wild place' in celebration of Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters 2020

Our annual Wild Poetry competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in Perthshire. This year's theme - 'a watery wild place' - was picked to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters* and we are pleased to announce the winners as follows.

P4-7 category winners

1st: All Around Me is Nature by Hector Mathieson, P7 Royal School of Dunkeld

2nd: Magic Water by Grace Coleman, P5, Breadalbane Academy

3rd: Otters Swimming by John Scott, P5, Breadalbane Academy

Highly commended: Water crashing by Damien Hughes, Breadalbane Academy and The Thunderous Churning River by Magnus Eveleigh, P7, Royal School of Dunkeld

S1-S3 category winners

1st: The Salmon of the depths below by Kieren Pearce, S1 – Breadalbane Academy

2nd: The Waves by Eleanor Kinmond, S1 – Breadalbane Academy

3rd: Kayaking by Chloe Dow, S1 – Breadalbane Academy

The Trust's Scotland Education Manager Rebecca Logsdon was at the prize giving. She said: “We received over 40 entries from the Royal School of Dunkeld and Breadalbane Academy. It’s been a joy to hear what Perthshire’s young people think about wild waters from local rivers and lochs to the sea.

"There were exciting action poems and more reflective ones, demonstrating that all ages appreciate time spent in wild places whether it’s kayaking a river, or walking by a loch.

“It was difficult to decide the winners. Some stood out because of their descriptive words, flow and rhythm, but they all conjured up the special qualities of Scotland’s watery wild places and there was some fantastic artwork too."

The children and families of the winning poets were invited to a special prize giving in the John Muir Trust’s (Wild Space) in Pitlochry. The winning poems were displayed there as well as at the launch of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s ‘Shades of Tay Project’.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who took part, including pupils, schools and teachers and our judges. We were delighted by the generosity of local businesses and would like to thank them for their sponsorship of the prizes:  Wee Adventures, Nae Limits, Splash White Water Rafting, Willowgate Activity Centre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

*Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020

• Find information, resources, organisations and activities for Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 courtesy of our John Muir Award team. (Get your free download here.)
• Join the conversation on social media #YCW2020.
• Check out VisitScotland's Year of Coasts & Waters 2020 website.