Winning entries are listed in contest-designated Themes and Categories.
SENSE OF WONDER THEME
Poem Category
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sophia, age 10, and Jennifer, age 37
“There is a World in My Yard”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Leo, age 12, and Arlene, age 61
“Walking the Towpath in Yardley, Pennsylvania”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sabrina, age 15 and Kim, age 47
“The Blue Runner”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Vivian, age 17; Greta, age 18; and Laura, age 52
“Awe of Autumn”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Anna, age 17, and Lina, age 6
“Drizzle, Drizzle, Drizzle”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Hope, age 17, and Verna, age 80
“My Night Sky”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Leah, age 17, and Mary, age 54
“Nights of the World”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Luke, age 17, and Lisa, age 49
“Paradise”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Illianna, age 16, and Donna, age 48
“The Harmony of the Ocean”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Asher, age 16, and Vicky, age 60
“The Forest Breeze”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kalie, age 12, and Patti, age 50
“A Moth’s Lonesome Stories”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Jacob, age 17, and Jordyn, age 24
“Colors”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Brynleigh, age 11, and Kevin, age 37
“Water is Life”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Henry, age 17, and Tony, age 50
“The First Climb of Many”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sara, age 17, and Ricky, age 57
“Just a Game of Golf”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Vincent, age 17, and Janine, age 49
“Enchanted by the Sea and Stars”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kirsten, age 17, and Jennifer, age 45
“A Change of Seasons”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Riley, age 17, and Kathy, age 45
“Trees and Humans”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Allison, age 17; Sierra, age 24; and Elizabeth, age 39
“Sunrise, Sunlight, Sunset, Repeat”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kaidan, age 7, and Disty, age 35
“Questions to a Mother”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Bennett, age 16, and Theodore, age 53
“The Evolution of Beauty”
Essay Category
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Fynn, age 17, and Ben, age 47
“The Smoky Mountains”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Addison, age 14, and Gregory, age 29
“Fear Lost at Sea”
Second Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Jack, age 18, and Jennifer, age 49
“The Visitor”
Second Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Frankie, age 17, and Natalie, age 53
“A Day in Yellowstone”
Poem with Photograph Category
First Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Meghna, age 14, and Krupa, age 40
“Juntos Como Uno (Together as One)”
First Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Grace, age 17, and Lynn, age 49
“Hoodoos”
First Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Echo, age 8, and Jessica, age 33
“The Wonder of Night Bloomers”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Samuel, age 18, and George, age 76
“As the Tree Feels the Loss”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Gabrielle, age 13, and William, age 41
“Kindling”
Honorable Mention, Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Elizabeth, age 16, and Rachel, age 50
“The World at My Fingertips”
Essay with Photograph Category
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Eleanor, age 17, and Dominique, age 45
“The Summer Snow”
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Natalee, age 16; Nathan, age 36; and Rebecca, age 57
“The Trees”
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Rylee, age 17, and Kelly, age 46
“Yellow Roses”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Chelsea, age 16, and Kellie, Mother
“How Do You and I Exist?”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Emma, age 11, and Lynn, age 39
“Natural Beauty: So Close to Home”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Erin, age 13, and Terry, age 46
“Immense Heaven”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Sydney, age 17; Jeannette, age 48; and Elizabeth, age 39
“The Realization”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder
Becky, age 13, and Elynn, age 64
“Voices of the Heavens”
SENSE OF WONDER/SENSE OF THE WILD THEME
Poem Category
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Tabitha, age 16, and Melanie, age 50
“A Walk in the Woods”
First Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Alexander, age 15, and Heather, age 50
“The Little Things”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Clara, age 9, and Merisa, age 39
“The Tide”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Mira, age 10, and Sucharita, age 42
“The Magical World Underneath Me”
Essay Category
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Emilie, age 15, and Jennifer, age 49
“Living Beyond Limits”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Sydney, age 15, and John, age 78
“The Cedars”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Alex, age 18, and Paul, Father
“Calm Waters”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Katarina, age 18, and Kim, age 46
“A Return to the Wild”
Second Place, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Esther, age 14, and Joseph, age 38
“Oysters”
Honorable Mention, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Amy, age 12, and Jae, age 41
“The Interminable, Unimaginable Road Trip”
Honorable Mention, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Jennet, age 13, and Jae, age 41
“Niagara Falls”
Poem with Photograph Category
First Place, Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Samantha, age 17, and Rachel, age 46
“Power and Peace”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Miranda, age 14, and Melissa, age 47
“At Punalu’lu Beach”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Lacey, age 16, and Elizabeth, age 39
“Life at the Beach”
Essay with Photograph Category
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Sarah, age 16; Daniel, age 14; and Junee, age 48
“The Cardio Mission”
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Jenna, age 17, and Tracy, age 52
“Sandhill Cranes”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Avani, age 14, and Parthasarathi, age 50
“Nature’s Presence”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild
Nathan, age 17, and Trista, age 51
“A Day in the Wild”
General Comments for all 2021 RCLA Contest Entrants
A second Pandemic year may have restricted our travels but it has not limited our vision. This year’s vibrant and diverse entries represent an intergenerational embrace of nature as families continue to enjoy more time together in the absence of some of the distractions of “healthier” times.
In all, we heard from teams in 18 states, 2 foreign countries, and 1 territory. Our collaborators included mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, brothers, sisters, and cousins, as well as teachers and tutors. Together they wrote about adventures in exotic locales like Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, Pikes Peak, and the Smoky Mountains but also about explorations in their own backyards, on rooftops, and in the trees and meadows of family farms. Some informed their writing with research on creatures of particular interest—sandhill cranes, oysters, tardigrades. Others just took the time to go outside and look around, with senses tuned to the earwigs, spiders, butterflies, and the “plainish brown” birds that actually have carmine heads and cobalt wings. In celebrating nature’s earthly, celestial, even microbial impact, the exotic elements become approachable and the more mundane become beautiful. Such is the power of wonder!
Several themes recur in this year’s entries—the addictive distraction of screens; the fragility of our planet; and the need for better stewardship—but one overall message emerges, as articulated by a young participant: “Through our shared experience we realized that there is beauty everywhere if you simply decide to look.” We are grateful that Rachel Carson has once again inspired so many to do just that.
