Seeking talented new faces in the world of nature writing, we set you a challenge: to write about a special place where you feel close to nature. Joe Pontin introduces our winning entry
Illustration: Lynn Hatzius
Glimpsed through darkened trees, the sea below glimmers with moonlight; the wood holds its breath. Then – sudden, close, loud – the shriek of an owl leaps into the night, its wild and melancholy flute defining the moment, defining the space; a jolt of adrenaline quickens the pulse.
Many of us have special places like this wild wood on the Cornish coast. Places where we feel intimately connected with nature. They might be meadows humming with bees, or urban railway sidings where foxes flit through the buddleia.
We asked you to celebrate these special places in our New Nature Writer Competition for 2022. And celebrate you did. Your many entries roamed from urban park to moorland; mountain to lake; coast to garden. Reading them was a thrilling reminder of the power of nature to soothe and heal, but also to energise and excite. Choosing a winner was difficult. Thank you to our judges for their thoughtful consideration.
One entry stood out as the winner. Scarlet Ribbons is published on the next page. We hope you enjoy it.
OUR JUDGING TEAM
