FINALISTS in a competition taking place across Scotland featuring stories about Scottish wildlife have been announced.
The Words of the Wild competition, launched by the Scottish Wildlife Trust in June encouraged people from across the country to take part in creating stories in all forms about wildlife and wild places.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust has campaigned and raised awareness about wildlife in Scotland for six decades and continues managing over 1000 wildlife reserves across the country.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust launched the competition to celebrate its 60th anniversary and has received over 500 entries including prose, poems, letters, and songs in English, Scots, and Gaelic.
The judges were able to whittle down the 500 entries to six finalists including three from both the adult and junior categories.
In the adult category, the shortlisted entries are “Òran an Fhèidh” by Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, “A Walk in the Wild” by Anne V McClure, and “In the Stillness” by Hannah Murphy.
The finalists in the junior category are “Wild with Grief” by Eileen Page, aged 15, “Into the Wild…” by Olivia Phillips, aged 10, and “Motherhood” by 16-year-old Alexandra Yates.
Stephen Jardine, Scottish Wildlife Trust ambassador and one of the competition judges said: “I’ve been amazed at the high standard of entries received into the competition. Reading through the submissions has been like taking a journey through Scotland’s wild places, from vast, rugged mountains in the Highlands, to small pockets of nature hidden in our most urban landscapes.
“It’s fantastic to see so many writers taking inspiration from nature and to read how much Scotland’s wildlife and wild places mean to people.
“On behalf of all the judges, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted an entry, and best of luck to our amazing finalists.”
The winners of the competitions will be announced at a Scottish Wildlife Trust event hosted at the Scottish Parliament on November 13 where the winners will receive prizes gifted by Viking Optical, NHBS, and The Mainstreet Trading Company
The winning entries will also be added to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s 60th anniversary time capsule which will be sealed at the event, to be opened in 2064 when the Trust will turn 100 years old.
