Competition

Enter BBC Wildlife's nature writing competition

Everything you need to know about BBC Wildlife Magazine and Earthwatch's nature-writing competition - including details of the prize, the judges and some tips to help.

What is nature writing?

Have you ever sat and listened to sparrows squabbling in a nearby bush or watched butterflies feeding in your garden and felt inspired to share your love of these things with others?

Perhaps you believe that such everyday happenings reveal broader truths, or that you have a unique insight. If you recognise yourself here, then you could be a budding or frustrated nature writer - so this competition is for you. Nature writing is a broad genre, but at its heart it describes how life shapes the world around us. Go on, have a go - you may surprise yourself.

How to win

Contributors to BBC Wildlife, such as Richard Mabey, show how diverse nature writing is. Richard has recently covered topics that range from nurturing a love of nature in children to the lessons to be learnt from the Great Storm of 1987. But don't copy Richard - or any of our writers. Find a subject you are passionate about and approach it in a way that's unique to you. Remember that you are writing a piece of non-fiction, not a work of imagination. It must be true, though it can be anecdotal.

How to enter

You must be aged 18 or over as of 1 January 2008. You can be a published writer, but the essay you submit must be original, must be your own work and must never have been published before, either in print or on the internet.

The judges

Your entry will be judged by:

Fergus Collins has been features editor of BBC Wildlife for the past three years and consequently judges all forms of nature writing as part of his everyday job.

Zoe Gamble is public relations manager for Earthwatch and has written for a number of publications about her experiences on Earthwatch expeditions.

Paul Evans is a writer and broadcaster with the BBC's Natural History Unit, Radio and The Guardian, for which he is also a Country Diarist on his native Wenlock Edge.

Kate Humble is one of the BBC's leading natural history presenters. She is a passionate supporter of Earthwatch and visited a project in West Africa in 2003.

Earthwatch is a charity that supports scientific research and conservation around the world. Earthwatch is dedicated to engaging people in science and promoting the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. The Nature Writer of the Year Award is supported by the Max Nicholson Fund through Earthwatch.

The prizes

The prize is the publication of your article in BBC Wildlife Magazine and on loveearth.com and a place on one of three Earthwatch expeditions (flights included), each providing the chance to carry out genuine conservation work.

• Spanish dolphins On this trip, you will monitor and record data on common dolphins and other cetaceans off the south coast of Spain, while living aboard an 18-metre sailing boat.
• Butterflies of Vietnam In Tam Dao National Park, you will help ecologists to survey butterfly populations and learn to identify many species by sight.
• South African brown hyenas In Pilanesberg National Park in the north of the country, you will help scientists to assess how the rare brown hyenas can best be protected.

Read full terms and conditions.

Go back to entry form