NORTH READING — The North Reading Garden Club, the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, and National Garden Clubs, Inc. is sponsoring a themed competition for students to develop and creatively express environmental awareness.
The competition is open to all area students with the opportunity to see the winner’s work published.
The poetry competition for students in kindergarten through 12th grade asks participants to write a poem on the theme: “Plant America for the Next 100 Years.” The poem can be in traditional verse or any poetic form. What is important is that the poem explores the theme.
Winners at each grade level will be selected by the state committee. First place poems will be forwarded to the New England Regional Chairperson. First place regional winning poems will then be submitted to National Garden Clubs. National winners will be announced in the spring and the poems will be printed in an online booklet of winning poems created by National Garden Clubs, Inc.
Last year Paige Leahy, a student at the E. Ethel Little School, won first place among all Grade 2 entrants at both the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts state level and the New England Regional level. Additionally, she was awarded second place at the national level by the National Garden Clubs.
Last year’s theme was “My garden has vegetables to spare that I can share” and the young poets were tasked with exploring ways to help fight hunger by sharing their garden vegetables with others. Paige’s poem, entitled “Growing and Giving,” is reprinted below:
Growing and Giving
By Paige Leahy, Grade 2
National Contest: 2nd place
State and local contest:
1st place
I look at my garden
What do I see?
Peppers green, red and yellow
Tomatoes large and small
Cucumbers hanging on vines
Potatoes growing underground
Lettuce in rows
Too many for us to eat
I’ll share some
With my Nana, friends and neighbors
We can all eat veggies from my garden!
2026 CONTEST DEADLINE
All entries for the 2026 contest must be received by January 7, 2026. Complete details are available through https://gardenclub.org/contests-and-activities.
Local entries in the competition are sponsored by the North Reading Garden Club on behalf of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and must be submitted in typed, hard-copy form. Entries should be sent to: Charlene Malek, 5 Fairview St., North Reading, MA 01864.
For additional information, please contact Charlene Malek at 978-337-5984 or malek7@verizon.net.