The Parks Trust, the self-financing charity that looks after more than 6,000 acres of parkland in Milton Keynes, is launching a competition to find poems that will feature along a self-guided trail at Great Linford Manor Park.
The Parks Trust, the self-financing charity that looks after more than 6,000 acres of parkland in Milton Keynes, is launching a competition to find poems that will feature along a self-guided trail at Great Linford Manor Park.
The competition celebrates the completion of the £3.16m National Lottery Heritage Fund project at Great Linford Manor Park which has been restoring, revealing and reviving the 18th century landscape there.
Entries should be poems that are written around the theme of water, in honour of the park’s stunning water gardens which have been the focal point of the works. The competition is open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Milton Keynes, and local schools are encouraged to get involved.
Winners will be chosen from three categories: Primary (5-11 years), Secondary (11-18 years) and Adult (18+ years), and will be judged by a panel including Mark Niel, Milton Keynes’ Poet Laureate. The winning poems from across the categories will be published on The Parks Trust website and made into boards to form a trail that leads visitors around Great Linford Manor Park during the summer holidays. Winners will also receive a certificate.
The competition officially launches today, Thursday 28 April 2022, and the closing date for entries is Thursday 30 June 2022. Winners will be announced on Friday 7 July 2022.
Ellie Broad, Community Engagement and Activity Coordinator for the Great Linford Manor Park project, said, “We're excited to celebrate the end of the ambitious restoration project and we thought a poetry competition was a fitting way to commemorate this moment. We are looking forward to seeing how the park has inspired local people’s creativity”.
To help writers get inspired, The Parks Trust is offering free poetry workshops with Mark Niel at Great Linford Manor Park. The workshop for families takes place on 1st June and the adult workshop is on 7th June.
Full details can be found here www.theparkstrust.com/poetrycompetition along with other helpful resources for entrants and full entry details.
