connection to nature

Poetry·Amanda Johnson, age 13 — A camping night unfolds through sensory moments: smoke rising, crickets chirping, a marshmallow catching fire, and finally the warmth of a sleeping bag as the fire glows through the tent.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 11 — A boy discovers a sea turtle nesting on an evening beach walk and spends his summer secretly protecting the eggs until they hatch.

Story·Bethany Grace Wade, age 12 — Emma befriends Tansy, a deaf girl visiting with her family, by writing notes back and forth, leading to horseback riding and a promise to be pen pals.

Poetry·Anna Preston, age 12 — A frog on a lily pad becomes a graceful dancer, tensing and leaping through rain to catch her dinner with a flick of her tongue.

Poetry·Rory Lipkis, age 9 — A child walks along a canal towpath, observing nature's beauty alongside human intrusion—from dragonflies and turtles to litter and a dying fish.

Poetry·Annie Rudisill, age 11 — A swimmer embraces the ocean's depths, feeling the sandy bottom and salty breeze, drawn repeatedly back into the water's welcoming coolness.

Poetry·Riley Grace Carlson, age 9 — A child walks to a tree swing in a pasture, falls asleep, and wakes to find autumn has arrived while they slept.

Poetry·Gabriel Wainio-Theberge, age 12 — Autumn transforms from blazing red leaves and jack-o-lanterns to encroaching night, frost, and brittle mushrooms frozen like victims of Medusa's stare.

Poetry·Laine Bruzek, age 12 — A child lies in grass watching the sky transform from day to night, observing clouds, sunset, stars, and moon in their eternal dance.

Story·Dressler Parsons, age 11 — A lonely girl rescues a kitten from a rattlesnake in the Arizona desert, and the small act of caring brings her disconnected family together for the first time in years.