The competition is organized by The Rialto poetry magazine. The Rialto works in association with the RSPB, BirdLife International, Cambridge Conservation Initiative and The University of Leeds Poetry Centre.

Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Zaffar Kunial.

Poems must have a title and must be no more than 40 lines, excluding the title.

Poems must be written in English.

Poems must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been published, self-published or published online or broadcast.

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18.

We are keen to encourage quality submissions, 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.