Winning entries are listed in contest-designated Themes and Categories.
SENSE OF WONDER THEME
Poem Category
First Place, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Lily, age 18, and Wendy, age 52
“Indiana Dunes: A Mother-Daughter Journey through Succession”
Second Place, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Elaine, age 16, and McKenna, age 46
“The Ogre Trails”
Honorable Mention (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Molly, age 18, and Shannon, age 51
“Morning Greeting”
Honorable Mention (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Arianna, age 16, and Nassrine, age 63
“Trickles of Sustenance: A Poetry Anthology on Water”
Honorable Mention (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Vinson, age 18, and Elizabeth, age 40
“Sky’s Painting”
Essay Category
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Aldous, age 14, Amanda, age 49, and Martyn, age 63
“The Art of Silence”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Ariel, age 16 and Misha, age 46
“Dialogue of the Dark”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Nishna, age 18, and Shwetha, age 42
“As the World Awakens”
First Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Maddy, age 17, and Mathew, age 48
“The Night Sky”
Second Place, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Samantha, age 16, and Matthew, age 49
“Peaceful Gray Beasts”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Dana, age 15, and Seong-Mi, age 50
“A Rediscovery of Nature”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sabina, age 14, and Julian, age 45
“Here and Beyond”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Hayley, age 17, and Kathryn, age 43.
“Wintertime”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sarah, age 17, and Mary, age 58.
“Emotions”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Jacob, age 16, and Mary, age 57
“Nature”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kaylin, age 16, and Melody, age 67
“Young Imagination”
Poem with Photograph Category
First Place, (tie) Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kendall, age 18, and Sandy, age 53
“Radiant Aura”
First Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Jimin, age 17, and Jaejin, age 53
“Earthing Early One Morning”
First Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Owen, age 17, and Anne, age 45.
“Night Sky”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Victoria, age 15, and Nathan, age 42
“Turn Off the Light and Let the Waves Whisk You”
Second Place (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Poorna, age 16, and Sowmya, age 40
“Gentle Currents”
Honorable Mention (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Addi, age 16, and Laura, age 42
“The End of Summer”
Honorable Mention (tie), Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kiera, age 17, and Kevin, age 51
“Untouched Wonders of Yellowstone”
Essay with Photograph Category
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Abagail, age 15, and Rebecca, age 59
“Resilient Beauty”
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Sydney, age 17, and Joe, age 52
“Reflecting on the Contradictions of the Sea”
First Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Theo, age 15, and Bernadette, Age 53
“Embracing Change”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
David, age 18, Sarah, age 18, Harry, age 69, and Joan, age 62
“The Loons of Squam Lake”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Justin, age 17, and Sejung, age 45
“An Island of Abundance”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Emma, age 15, and Florentina, age 47
“Nature—the Sequence of Life”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Clare, age 15, and Heather, age 44
“A Blufftop View of a Changing Coast”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Marguerite, age 17, and Jennifer, age 53
“The Otherworldly Place That is My Grandma’s Yard”
Second Place (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Yeonwoo, age 17, and Kyungmin, age 47
“What It is Now”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Caden, age 17, and James, age 60
“A Heartbreaking Scene”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Andrew, age 16, and Allison, age 43
“Good Smoke in the Forest”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Marina, age 17, and Wendy, age 55
“My Bestfriend, the Ocean”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kyla, age 12, Shana, age 44, and Nicole, age 62
“Beach Miracles: Tiny Turtles and Giant Cockles”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Kyle, age 18, and Angie, age 48
“A Whole New World”
Special Review Unit
Special Review Unit, Poem with Photo Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Vivan, age 14, and Brian, age 53
“Bond”
Special Review Unit, Poem with Photo Category, Sense of Wonder Theme
Trace, age 17, and Shanna, age 45
“Yellowstone Wonders”
SENSE OF WONDER/SENSE OF THE WILD THEME
Poem Category
First Place, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Serena, age 14, and Aaron, age 50
“A Place Long Forgotten”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Benjamin, age 15, and Stephen, age 68
“Of Two Worlds”
Second Place (tie), Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Qi Feng, age 16, and Elise, age 47
“Bulbs of Life”
Honorable Mention, Poem Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Pandora, age 16, and Melody, age 74
“Bumblebees: Keepers of Wonder in the Wild”
Essay Category
First Place, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Janice, age 13, and Monica, age 29
“Gifts of the Untamed Forest”
Second Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Aiden, age 17, and James, age 67
“My Beloved Bee Box”
Second Place (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Oliva, age 17, and April, age 42
“A Dream Come True”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Jacob, age 17, and Megan, age 43
“A Majestic Moment”
Honorable Mention (tie), Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Sense of the Wild Theme
Jake, age 17, and Katelyn, age 7
“Rustling Bushes”
Poem with Photograph Category
First Place, Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Nikko, age 17, and Shellie, age 52
“Sense”
Second Place, Poem with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Madeline, age 17, Rachel, age 17, and Jennifer, age 52
“Dreamer, Wasn’t a Dream”
Essay with Photograph Category
First Place, Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Sophia, age 17, and Hongha, age 50
“Miles of Fire and Gold”
Honorable Mention, Essay with Photograph Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Dominic, age 16, Jesse, age 16, and Elizabeth, age 40
“The Nature that Surrounds us as We Explore It”
Special Review Unit
Special Review Unit, Poem with Photo Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Vivyan, age 16, and Jamie, age 41
“The Power of A Dog”
Special Review Unit, Essay Category, Sense of Wonder/Wild Theme
Aubrey, age 17, and Kristin, age 38
“My Lovely Stingray”
General Comments for all 2023 Entrants
This year’s winners represent an expanded geographic reach: 14 states as well as Korea, Malaysia, and Romania. It is so gratifying to see that the intergenerational embrace of nature is broad as well as deep. Collaborators include mothers, fathers, grandparents, nieces, aunts, great-uncles, neighbors, teachers, and tutors, all sharing experiences of wonderment, using the greatest natural power I know: imagination.
Our writers, editors, and photographers brought diverse experiences to share: walking, hiking, diving, swimming, “earthing,” or just lying back and watching the sky. The places that offer them encounters with nature include woods, dunes, caves, mountains, rivers, oceans, and lakes—and in some cases, “magical” backyards. There they interact with some of nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures, such as manta rays and manatees, reef sharks, dolphins, loons, and turtles, as well as deer, squirrels and a beloved cat. The sensory catalogue is one that ranges from the colors of the sunset, the smell of wet earth, and the sound of a loon’s call, to the utter silence deep inside a cave.
What results from all this “wonder,” is both revelatory and rewarding. A sampling of some observations from these winners include; “We, too, are part of this intricate strand”; “I feel like I’m in a deep, calm place”; “Happiness and love.” And the following, in reference to wildflowers that “drifted into every crevice of our hearts and every crack, hole, and shadowed area of our souls.”
All this is to say, Rachel Carson’s “sense of wonder,” is deep, ongoing, far-ranging, and in changing our lives can only bring hope to our planet. Let us rest assured that “wonder” does not cease.
