Every year, we run competitions for World Curlew Day, and this year is no exception, with the return of our poetry, art, and baking competitions!
Open to all ages and abilities, we love to receive entries from anyone who finds Curlews an inspiration to create. Winners of each competition will receive a Luke Western Curlew print worth £12. Please send all entries in as a PDF, JPEG or PNG file.
The deadline for each competition is midnight of Thursday 10 April 2025, and entries should be sent to flo@curlewaction.org. For the art and poetry competition, entries will be in two categories: Under 16s and Over 16s. Please specify which category you are entering when you send in your entry.
Winners will be announced on World Curlew Day (21 April). You are welcome to enter two or even all three of the competitions, if you’re feeling especially creative!
We will be posting entries on social media and our website after the competition to highlight the artistic designs we have received. If you do not want your full name and/or piece to be shared online, please state this when you send us your entry.
Meet the World Curlew Day competition judges:
Head judge
Mary is a writer, TV and radio producer and conservationist, whose massive walk across the breadth of the UK in 2016 helped raise the profile of the Curlew, and led her to write the greatly influential Curlew Moon and the founding of Curlew Action.
Mary loves long distance walking, camping, reading and cycling, as well as wildlife and storytelling, and it is her passion for telling the story of the Curlew that has helped launch it into the public consciousness in the past few years.
Art competition
This year our art competition has a theme! We are looking for a new Curlew design for a new greetings card! Our cards are incredibly popular and we would love your input. Can you come up with a Curlew design that you think people would like to send to their family and friends?
Our very own Ellen Bradley, former Curlew Action Manager and wildlife artist, will be the judge.
Poetry competition
Poems come in many forms, and we want to leave the style up to you. The only rule is that it should be about, or feature, Curlews! We love to receive poems that have been written out by hand and photographed or scanned, especially some people enjoy adding art alongside their poems, but if you’d rather type your poem then you are very welcome to do so – whichever you’d prefer!
Our trustee Matt Howard, a published poet and environmentalist, will judge the poetry competition.
Baking competition
Finally, our baking competition is also Curlew themed! Unfortunately, we are too scattered around the country to taste your creations for ourselves – but this gives you a wonderful excuse to bake for friends, family, or colleagues, snap some photos of your Curlew-themed design, and tuck in!
Past example of entries have been Curlew nests, and cakes impressively created with beak-shaped toppings. This allows you to be as creative as you’d like, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Chef and food writer Xanthe Clay will be our baking competition judge.
Let us know how you're planning to celebrate World Curlew Day, and don't forget that you can use our World Curlew Day resources!