Young poets plant a future worth greening

Image: Lord Mayor Cr Tania Brown with all POEM FOREST shortlist poets (L-R) Isabela, Zoe, Charlie, Adon and Daisy.

Local young poets continue to bloom and inspire a future that is planted in their words.

On Tuesday 18 November, local students and their families met at Holborn Park Berkeley to mark the fifth year of the nationwide POEM FOREST Prize.

Joined by representatives from hosts Wollongong City Council and Red Room Poetry, the event celebrated the five shortlist poets in attendance and to unveil our local winner for 2025.

We’re pleased to announce that local student Charlie (Year 3) won First Place for the Wollongong Community Greening Local Prize area for his poem, The Patient Thread. Isabela (Year 6) also received a Highly Commended prize for her poem, Torment in Grief.

Image: Charlie (winner) with local Judge Jennine

The shortlist poets and winners were selected from more than 400 entries for the Wollongong area. Their impressive achievements were presented by the local prize judge, Council's Art and Culture Officer Jennine Primmer, who is an artist, writer and poet.

Following all the formalities, the group ended the event by helping to start planting 4000 new trees in the park – one for every entry received nationwide.

Felicity Skoberne Curator Botanic Garden said she was blown away by the growth of the prize over the past few years, which inspired by 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 Language Other Than English / Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and First Nations prize categories has been so special. It was awesome to see some 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.”

The POEM FOREST debuted in 2021 and is a nationwide nature writing prize 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.

Image: (L-R) Charlie (Winner) and Isabela (Highly Commended) planting seedlings in Holborn Park.

This year was the first time a theme was introduced for entrants. It challenged students to explore the theme of ‘Understory’ and uncover the hidden parts of the natural world and themselves.

You can read our young poets’ works below:

• Winner, Charlie G - The Patient Thread
• Highly Commended, Isabela C - Torment in Grief
• Shortlist, Adon P - Biliirr
• Shortlist, Daisy W - Spring
• Shorlist, Zoe M – Coveted Country

All of our Wollongong shortlist poets are in the running for national prizes across the new prize categories LoTE/CALD and First Nations, with the winners announced on Thursday 20 November. They are being considered amongst the nearly 4,000 entries received nationwide.

This national prize will be selected by a talented judging panel that included Aboriginal scholar and Author Tyson Yunkaporta, Arrente, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish songstress, poet and producer Aurora Liddle-Christie AKA SOLCHLD, and children’s author and 2024 Poem Forest Accredited Teacher Prize Winner Blake Nuto.

Check out our POEM FOREST shortlist entries by visiting the Red Room Poetry website.