What lies below and amongst the leaves,
You’ll never know until you explore,
What lies amongst the forest floor.​

~ Hailey V (Year 7, 2021), from ‘What Lies Amongst the Forest Floor’

​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.

Poem Forest 2025: Understory

Unveiling the Understory

Step into the 2025 Poem Forest and explore this year’s theme: Understory — an invitation to uncover the rich, hidden layers of the natural world and ourselves. We’re calling on students and teachers to slow down, listen deeply, and give voice to the vibrant life beneath the forest canopy — from fungi and insects to roots, memory, and quiet growth. Whether you're writing from the spinifex plains or the depths of a classroom, we invite you to notice what often goes unseen and celebrate the stories that thrive in shadow. Join us in nurturing both creativity and Country — for every poem submitted, a tree will be planted, helping to grow a future where every voice matters.

2025 Commissioned Poets & Judges

Each year, we commission Australian writers to pen a new poem responding to the themes of Poem Forest. You can find a curriculum aligned Poem Forest: Understory poetic resource containing writing activities inspired by their poems in our learning resource. ​

We're thrilled that our 2025 commissioned poets will also be our judging panel this year, and welcome: Aboriginal scholar and Author Tyson Yunkaporta, Arrente, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish songstress, poet and producer Aurora Liddle-Christie AKA SOLCHLD, and children’s author and 2024 Poem Forest Accredited Teacher Prize Winner Blake Nuto.

Prizes

Poem Forest shortlisted entries and winning poems will be published in our Red Room digital poem library and have the chance to win up to $500 in Dymocks book packs, journals, plants, seeds, garden tours, and more across 10 prize categories for Primary, Secondary, First Nations, LoTE, and Teacher entries.

Entries for the 2025 Poem Forest: Understory Prize will close on Friday 26 September 2025.

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About the Forest

The Poem Forest will continue to be planted on Dharawal and Wodi Wodi Country in Wollongong and will extend far and wide across Wollongong with trees planted in local parks, natural areas, backyards, and as street trees. With some of the lowest canopy cover in all of NSW, these trees are critical in creating a better future. ​

Seedlings planted in the Poem Forest include a mix of native plants like eucalypts, paperbarks (melaleuca), palms, flame trees, as well as coastal-loving trees like Wild Quince (Guioa semiglauca) and Cheese Trees (Glochidion ferdinandi). They will be carefully prepared by the team at Wollongong Botanic Garden Nursery so they're ready to provide shade, purify the air, capture and store carbon, and provide homes for living things above and below ground. ​

Workshops and Events

Throughout the year, Poem Forest is hosting a number of free digital workshops with high-profile hosts including Award Winning poet, educator and children's book Author Blake Nuto, Aboriginal scholar and Author Tyson Yunkaporta, and proud Bundjalung woman and award-winning illustrator Charmaine Ledden-Lewis.