Trust for Sustainable Living

The announcements of our International Student Essay Competition Grand Prize Winner, Finalists & Honourable Mentions 2024 are now available on our Winners page

About the 2024 International Student Essay Competition “How can nature help us achieve the UN SDGs in my community?”

Nature provides us with everything we need to survive and thrive – clean air and water, food, materials for shelter, medicines and so much more. Many people believe that nature can help us tackle major global challenges such as climate change, food and water security, biodiversity loss and disaster risk reduction, as well as improving human health, societal wellbeing and developing sustainable economies.

This year we wanted to hear students’ own views on how they feel that nature could support the achievement of the SDGs in their own communities. Students were invited to approach the topic however they wished, either focusing on one SDG, or multiple SDGs that they felt are a key issue within their communities, and explore how nature could help to improve the situation.

We had a record number of essay entries this year, receiving 1594 essays from 340 schools in 64 countries! 

Congratulations to all of our participants and winners!

The prizes

Our overall Grand Prize Winner will receive a trophy and a cash prize of £1000 and £500 for their school, with one Runner Up receiving a trophy and a cash prize of £500 and £250 for their school (cash prizes paid in local currency). All participating Teacher Champions, Essay Finalists & Honourable Mentions, and International Debate participants, will receive personalised e-certificates.

The 2024 competition is now closed.

Key dates