Young Tasmanians’ Bird Stories to Take Flight at Bruny Island Bird Festival

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Bruny Island

BRUNY ISLAND, Tasmania — The Bruny Youth Stories Prize has received dozens of beautiful entries from young writers as young as six, from Bruny Island and right across Tasmania.

Part of the 2026 Bruny Island Bird Festival, the prize invited young people to write a 50–500-word story, fiction or non- fiction, about a native bird of Bruny Island. Winners across three age categories (Junior: up to 10; Youth: 11–15; Young Writers: 16–22) will be announced at noon on Sunday 22 March at Adventure Bay Hall, where winning entries will premiere as short films featuring real bird footage.

The prize is the culmination of the Bruny Kids & Nature project, which over the past year has documented Bruny Island children’s connection to nature through articles, videos and creative works hosted on the Kuno platform.

Coordinated by Bruny Island teacher Claire Boost, with videography by local filmmaker Claire Gorman, the project has been warmly embraced by parents, teachers and the wider community. Kuno gratefully acknowledges the Tasmanian Community Fund, whose generous funding made the entire project possible.

Dusky robin Dial Range 0058 by Tilde Bergstrom

“The entries are a mix of fiction and non-fiction, but all are honest and thought-provoking — especially when you consider some writers are as young as six. The response has been overwhelming and illustrates how motivated children can be to write when given an authentic reason to put pen to paper.”

— Claire Boost, Bruny Teacher and Project Coordinator, Bruny Kids & Nature

“Kuno’s mission is to foster people’s love and connection with the natural world. It has been inspiring to see the Bruny Island community, and kids from across Tasmania, embrace the opportunity to tell stories of the wonderful birds of Bruny.”

— Dr Phill Pullinger, Bruny Island GP and Director, Kuno

The judging panel comprises bird expert and Inala founder Dr Tonia Cochran, nature writer Helen Cushing, and Bruny Island Library manager Jan Hunt. Each category winner receives $250 prize money and sees their story turned into a short film, published on Kuno and YouTube. Every entry, regardless of placing, will be celebrated and published online at kuno.earth/articles. The awards ceremony is free and open to the public.

Bruny Kids & Nature

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BRUNY ISLAND, Tasmania — The Bruny Youth Stories Prize has received dozens of beautiful entries from young writers as young as six, from Bruny Island and right across Tasmania.

The prize is the culmination of the Bruny Kids & Nature project, which over the past year has documented Bruny Island children’s connection to nature through articles, videos and creative works hosted on the Kuno platform.

“The entries are a mix of fiction and non-fiction, but all are honest and thought-provoking — especially when you consider some writers are as young as six. The response has been overwhelming and illustrates how motivated children can be to write when given an authentic reason to put pen to paper.”

— Claire Boost, Bruny Teacher and Project Coordinator, Bruny Kids & Nature

“Kuno’s mission is to foster people’s love and connection with the natural world. It has been inspiring to see the Bruny Island community, and kids from across Tasmania, embrace the opportunity to tell stories of the wonderful birds of Bruny.”