The winners of the National Water Week Junior Writing Prize have been announced, with students from Harrington Public School, MidCoast Christian College and Manning Valley Anglican College taking out their respective divisions.
Harrington Public School student Mia Callagher was awarded first prize in the Primary School category for her short story 'Pippa's River Life', which depicts a young platypus's attempts to save her river home from the devastation caused by litter and deforestation.
In the Junior High School category, MidCoast Christian College student Isabel Griffis was awarded first prize for her poem 'A Promise of Drought', which captures the oppressive effects of drought on an unnamed rural town.
Finally, Manning Valley Anglican College student Breanna Flanagan was awarded first prize in the Senior High School category for her short story 'The Abyssal Deep', which depicts the tragic last days of two lovers living in a world where the water supply has been contaminated by a deadly new substance.
MidCoast Council's Director of Infrastructure and Engineering Services, Rob Scott, said all the students who entered the competition had approached it with thoughtfulness and creativity.
"This was something new we offered for National Water Week this year and we were really impressed with the quality and quantity of the entries we received," said Mr Scott.
"We asked students to use creative writing to explore the vital relationship between water and the world and it was incredible to see the unique and inventive ways they went about exploring that theme.
"At the same time, the issues that kept arising in their work, such as drought, floods, and the impact we humans can have on the natural environment, are the same issues that so many of us are concerned about, so it really shows that young people think about these things deeply and understand the essential nature of water."
Prizes were awarded to the top three entries in each category, with a Highly Commended prize also awarded in the Primary School and Junior High School categories.
To see all the winners and read their entries, visit https://haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/water-wiser-hub
