To celebrate 60 years of being in existence, the Scottish Wildlife Trust is inviting you to tell your story of Scotland’s wildlife and wild places. Have you witnessed a wildlife spectacle that took your breath away? Or had a wildlife encounter that stopped you in your tracks? Which words would you use to describe these experiences?

The competition is open to poems, journalistic articles, essays, letters, song lyrics or a short stories (max one per person in total). Entries must be connected to the native wildlife of Scotland.

One adult and one junior winner will be selected by a panel of judges and will receive an amazing prize bundle.

Adult winner (18 years and over)

• A pair of Osprey ED binoculars from Viking Optical
• An Environmental Book Subscription from The Mainstreet Trading Company
• A £200 NHBS voucher
• A year’s membership to the Trust or one of our wildlife adoptions

Junior winner (Under 18 years)

• A trailcam starter bundle including camera, batteries and a memory card
• A £200 NHBS voucher
• A year’s membership to the Trust or one of our wildlife adoptions

Winners will be announced at an event at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 13 November, with the shortlisted candidates invited to attend. Your submission will be judged on its originality, creativity and inspirational qualities by a brilliant panel of judges including Susi Briggs, Dr Mya-Rose Craig, Rosamund De La Hey , Stephen Jardine and Dr Kenny Taylor.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.