Liverpool schoolgirl Elle Rice, 15, of Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts has been announced as the first prize winner in the over 14s category of the Climatlantic Poetry Competition and has bagged herself a brand new Amazon Kindle worth over £100.
Elle’s poem, entitled ‘Our Crumbling Climate’, brought to light the devastation caused around the World by climate change and encourages the reader to be more environmentally responsible.
Merseytravel launched the poetry competition in January 2011 in order to get schools and pupils more involved with issues affecting the climate and the environment. The poems allowed pupils to think about the current problems facing our environment and discuss their thoughts creatively.
With over three hundred entries from school children over the four categories – both Primary and Secondary schools at all ages, Elle is one of the four winners and sixteen runners up that have had their poem printed in Climatlantic’s ‘The Small Book of Poetry’.
Elle Rice, a year ten pupil at Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts, who lives in Liverpool city centre said: “It’s so exciting to see my poem printed in The Small Book of Poetry!
"I’m really proud of myself for winning the competition, especially when there were so many other great entries.
"My new Kindle is really cool and I’m looking forward to reading my favourite books on it over the summer holidays.”
With such a great response to the topic already, this illustrates that this is a topic that children of all ages want to get involved in and passionate about. Merseytravel are hoping to roll this competition out on an annual basis.
Frances Harrison, Headteacher at Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts said: “We are extremely proud of Elle’s success in the Climatlantic Poetry Competition.
"It is wonderful to see our pupils getting involved with the current environmental issues affecting our world and expressing their thoughts creatively. Well done Elle!”
Copies of Climatlantic’s ‘The Small Book of Poetry’ are available at certain Merseytravel outlets.
‘Our Crumbling Climate’
Elle Rice, Age 15
Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts
We see devastation, everywhere we look;
On the news, in the paper – all because something shook.
The plates have shifted; smashed together,
The forests have burnt, bringing bad weather.
Our cars take us places, not realising what they’ve done;
They’ve released CO2 – something we can’t outrun.
Cities are wiped out, gone for good;
Caused by tragic events, as the Earth heats up.
As temperatures spike and ice caps melt,
We all wonder, when the rain will next pelt.
We look outside and see the sun blaze
As people do nothing for this climate change.
To shrink your carbon footprint
Recycle and switch off your lights.
They’re high in the sky. Beyond our view
But they’re all around us, and no; they’re not new.
We’ve grown up knowing of it, feeling unaffected,
But now we know what makes us all connected.
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