Announcing Poem Forest 2025
A forest of poems growing underfoot
Red Room Poetry, in collaboration with Wollongong City Council, is proud to launch Poem Forest 2025 on April 29.
From this year forward, a new theme will guide each annual edition, offering young writers a deeper way to root their poems in the natural world and grow creative connections with Country. The 2025 theme is Understory.
Understory invites students and teachers to explore the vibrant and often overlooked life that flourishes beneath the canopy — from delicate fungi and burrowing mammals to the tangled threads of care, connection, and Country.
Three Poem Forest commissioned poets will amplify the program, hosting workshops and sharing their poems. Our commissioned poets will also be our judging panel in 2025. We are delighted to welcome:
- Aboriginal scholar and Author Tyson Yunkaporta
- Arrente, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish songstress, poet and producer Aurora Liddle-Christie AKA SOLCHLD
- Children’s author and 2024 Poem Forest Accredited Teacher Prize Winner Blake Nuto
From May - September 2025, Poem Forest will be hosting free online workshops, including:
- International Day for Biological Diversity Workshop (Primary + Secondary), on Thursday, 22 May
- Baraya Barray ~ Whale Song and the Understory Workshop, on Wednesday, 11 June
- School Trees Day Workshop, on Saturday, 26 July
- Science Week Workshops (Primary + Secondary) on Wednesday, 13 August
- Threatened Species Day Workshop (Primary + Secondary) on Friday, 5 September
About Poem Forest
Poem Forest is a free nature writing program and prize that breathes life back into the natural world that sustains us. Created by Red Room Poetry, in partnership with Wollongong City Council, Poem Forest invites students and teachers to use their words to make positive climate action. For every nature poem received, a tree is planted to help heal habitats and create a Poem Forest for future generations. Since 2021, over 22,800 poem trees have been planted.
