connection to nature

Story·Danielle Eagle, age 13 — A girl befriends a mysterious beach companion with shimmering hair and strange abilities, discovering her true nature when caught in a dangerous current.

Poetry·Ava Persinger, age 12 — A young observer discovers the ocean's hidden music — from crashing waves to a tiny crab's clicking claws to shells clinking in the depths.

Story·Felicia McSweeney, age 11 — A girl is swept out to sea at night, sinks to the ocean floor watching bubbles rise from her laughing mouth, then returns to shore with the tide.

Story·Pranav Parekh, age 8 — A boy walks through a snow-covered birch forest at dawn, observing animals in perfect harmony, until a bright light returns him to his bedroom and the start of a school...

Poetry·Vincenzo Ruggiero, age 13 — A boy describes his after-school routine with his dog Bella, from her greeting at the window to playing fetch, bath time, and bedtime.

Poetry·Isabelle Zeaske, age 10 — A spring walk reveals birch shadows, a fern sprout, and a plastic bag caught in a pine tree, its snap drowned by a chickadee's song.

Poetry·Aiwen L. Desai, age 12 — A wolf's howl, an elephant's wail, a polar bear's lament become nature's collective plea for humans to stop destroying and start creating a world where all creatures can thrive.

Poetry·Isabelle Zeaske, age 10 — A spring walk reveals birch shadows, a fern sprout, and a plastic bag caught in a pine tree, its snap drowned out by a distant chickadee's song.

Poetry·Elina Juvonen, age 13 — A prose poem traces the precise moment when ocean and sky merge at twilight, finding that exact blue-black in the speaker's own eyes.

Poetry·Theo Taplitz, age 10 — A boat journey brings memories of a grandfather as dolphins appear, blending present observation with past experiences on the water.