The Words of the Wild nature writing competition is back for a third year! This time, Scottish Wildlife Trust are asking you to tell them your stories of Scotland’s wildlife and wild places within the theme: Changing seasons.

What are the natural waymarkers that you look for that signal the transition from one season to the next? Which species do you most look forward to seeing at certain times of year? And what signs are you seeing that our seasons are changing as our planet warms?

Submissions can be in English, Scots or Gaelic up to 1,000 words long and written in any form: poem, letter, short story, essay, song lyrics – whichever works best to tell your story.

This year’s competition is in association with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.

Prizes

A winner from each age and language category will be selected by our panel of judges and will receive an amazing prize bundle:

Adult winners (18 years and over)

• 24-litre Swarovski backpack 
• £100 voucher for NHBS
• £50 voucher for Wild Fungarium
• 70cl bottle of Seòlta Spiced Rum
• Complete series of Melissa Harrison’s Seasons anthologies
• Opticron 10x magnification hand lens
• 2027 Scottish Wildlife calendar
• 1-year’s membership to the Trust or a wildlife adoption

Junior winners (under 18 years)

• Trail camera starter bundle (including a Num’axes camera, memory card and batteries)
• £50 voucher for Wild Fungarium
• Swarovski baseball cap
• Complete series of Melissa Harrison’s Seasons anthologies
• Opticron 10x magnification hand lens
• 2027 Scottish Wildlife calendar
• 1-year’s membership to the Trust or a wildlife adoption

Two runners-up in each category will also receive a 2027 Scottish Wildlife calendar.

Winners will be announced at a special event as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in October.