Congratulations to Year 10 English Scholar, Millie. She is the regional winner of the Solstice Nature Writing Prize 2022 and has had her poem, ‘Then and Now’ published in their anthology. The theme was ‘Fight for Flight’ and challenged young people to write something which increased awareness of the decreasing bird population and its impact on the environment. The judge was the best-selling author Gill Lewis and Millie was selected as the East Midlands winner in the 12-14 years age category.

Well done Mille on your achievement.

My home used to be an emerald palace,
Now it’s a place of chaos and distress,
My home used to be full of colour,
But now all I see is a mess.
A mess that could’ve been prevented.
I used to perch in the treetops,
To gaze over my home,
But now I hide in the treetops,
Just to stay safe from the danger below.
The danger that could’ve been prevented.
My home used to be adorned with coloured jewels,
My family, my friends,
But now it’s only me,
With little time to make amends.
They’re losses which could’ve been prevented.
I need my home back and,
I need my family back.
I just want to feel safe again.
But somewhere deep inside of me,
I know I never will,
Because the consequences that surround me,
Caused by the humans’ strange thrill
Are a constant reminder of the security
That I will never feel again but still,
I hold onto the hope that maybe one day,
They will notice just how many
Homes they’ve destroyed and families they’ve wrecked
And the trust they have broken
All while showing little to no respect
That one day things will change,
That one day I won’t have to live in constant fear
Of whether I live or die,
That I will be able to live in peace once again
With my family by my side,
And it may all just be a dream,
That I’ve made up in my mind,
But its real to me.
And while a solution to this may be hard to find,
It’s certainly not impossible,
So just remember to be kind.