Partnerships:
The Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize
Hosted by the Academy of American Poets, the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize is given to honor exceptional poems that help make real for readers the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment at present.
Established in 2019 with support from Treehouse Investments, the prize honors three poets. First place receives $1,000; second place, $750; and third place, $500. In addition, all three poems are published in the popular Poem-a-Day series, which is distributed to 500,000 readers. Poems may also be featured in the award-winning education series Teach This Poem, which serves 33,000 educators each week.
Please visit Poets.org to view the official press release and contest guidelines for the 2025 Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize.
POEM PRIZE ARCHIVE
2024 - Judged by Elizabeth Bradfield & Dr. Kate Marvel
“Parable” by Nicole Brown
“Borrow” by Sarah McCartt-Jackson
“Green Burial Unsonnet” by Dante Di Stefano
2023 - Judged by Dr. Peter Kalmus & Matthew Olzmann
“Lullaby” by John James
“Playing with Bees” by RK Fauth
“Though from Here I Can’t Smell the Smoke” by Allison Hutchcraft
2022 - Judged by Alexis Pauline Gumbs & Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali
“Good Grief” by KB Brookins
“Apostrophe” by Liza Katz Duncan
“Do/Do Not” by Nisha Atalie
2021 - Judged by Camille T. Dungy & Katharine K. Wilkinson
"Insomniami" by Ariel Francisco
"Origin Story" by Leah Naomi Green
"Vanishing" by Brittany Corrigan
2020 - Judged by Bill McKibben & Julia Alvarez
"Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild" by J.P. Grasser
"O" by Claire Wahmanholm
"My Eighteen-Month-Old Daughter Talks to the Rain as the Amazon Burns" by Dante Di Stefano
