\n<\/p>\n
Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14.<\/p>\n
The article needs to be about a recent encounter they\u2019ve had with nature<\/strong> \u2013 whether it\u2019s a whether it\u2019s a winter flower, something lurking in a pond or a fascinating bug.<\/p>\n Crucially, it doesn\u2019t matter if the child is a nature expert or not \u2013 we are especially keen to reach teachers who might like to get their class outside and noticing nature. Note that any child who has their article published will be paid!<\/p>\n The deadline for winter submissions is noon on Monday 2 February.<\/strong><\/p>\n Of all the entries, four will be chosen to be published in the newspaper and online \u2013 two in January and two in February. If you don\u2019t get selected this time then don\u2019t be disheartened, the submission form will reopen again in early March, for articles about spring.<\/p>\n Note that any early birds who submit a piece before the 16th stand a chance of being published in January.<\/p>\n First of all, we\u2019re looking for children age 8 to 14, so we will need your permission, as parent or guardian. Then here\u2019s what the child needs to do:<\/strong><\/p>\n Step 1<\/strong> \u2013 Go out one day to where there is some nature. It could be their local woods or beach, their garden, a farm, or simply the nearest park.<\/p>\n Step 2<\/strong> \u2013 Write an article of 200-250 words<\/strong> telling us what they saw and what happened<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Step 3<\/strong> \u2013 Send the article to us using the form below. We ask that you fill in the form yourself rather than the child.<\/p>\n Photos\/drawings <\/strong>\u2013 These are helpful (especially landscape rather than portrait) but they are not a condition of entry. If you have some, please tell us in the \u201cmore information\u201d field, as there\u2019s no way to attach them to the form.<\/p>\n <\/span>Young Country Diarist Athira investigating a beach in Dumfries and Galloway.<\/span> Photograph: Family handout<\/p>\n If the child gets stuck and doesn\u2019t know what to write about, here are a few pointers:<\/p>\n Good nature writing starts with the senses \u2013 so what did you see and hear? What about smell and touch? Take notes when you\u2019re out and about so you don\u2019t forget<\/p>\n How would you describe what happened? Did it remind you of anything?<\/p>\n It\u2019s great to look up some extra information about what you saw, and tell us about that too. For example, if you find an interesting-looking bug, see if you can find out what type of butterfly it was, how long they live \u2013 any juicy details!<\/p>\n You can think big, and describe the whole scene \u2013 the sky, the horizon, the landscape. Or you can think small, and tell us some details about the butterfly\u2019s wings or the beetle\u2019s markings.<\/p>\n What did your encounter with nature make you think about? How did it make you feel?<\/p>\n The deadline for entry is 10pm on Sunday 2 November<\/strong>. Anyone can enter their child who is aged between 8 and 14 and based in the UK<\/strong>. You the parent\/guardian will be contacted if your child\u2019s piece is selected for publication, and you will be paid on behalf of the child.<\/p>\n For further inspiration, here are a few recent Young Country Diaries: Good luck, everyone!<\/p>\n Paul Fleckney, editor of Young Country Diary and Country Diary<\/p>\n We ask that the parent\/guardian fills in the form below, rather than your child. Your responses are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. One of our journalists will be in contact with you, as parent or guardian, before we publish, so please do leave contact details.<\/strong><\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n You can send your child’s diary entry using this form.<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For alternative ways to get in touch securely please see our tips guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14. The article needs to be about a recent encounter they\u2019ve had with nature \u2013 whether it\u2019s a whether it\u2019s a winter flower, something lurking in a pond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[9999,2001,1575,1510,613,4565,5558,2616],"class_list":{"0":"post-40493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-boys","9":"tag-chance","10":"tag-girls","11":"tag-guardian","12":"tag-heres","13":"tag-nature","14":"tag-published","15":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How your child can take part<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Hints and tips for any budding YCD writers<\/h2>\n
Mia, 11, on finding a fairytale fungus
Sachin, eight, on seeing a rare and beautiful bird
Flynn, 10, on getting up close to a magnificent beetle<\/p>\n