Scottish winners announced at International Young Reporters for the Environment event

Hot on the heels of us announcing the Scottish winners of our Young Reporters for the Environment competition at an event hosted by DC Thomson in Dundee, the international jury has announced the 2026 winners.

Amellie McKay from South Ayrshire scooped the Written Article - 11 to 14 category in Scotland with her entry The Loss of Wildlife in Our Garden. And she has now been recognised as the global winner in the category.

In addition, Oaklands Eco-Committee took 3rd place internationally in the Photo Story - 15 to 18 category after winning the Scottish award.

The international programme engages more than 200,000 young reporters across 37 countries and the annual competition attracts entries globally.  The Scottish winners were amongst 44 that were recognised at an online international ceremony this week which many of our education team attended.   

All the work of the young reporters has been displayed in a Virtual Gallery where you can listen to podcasts, explore powerful photos, watch videos and read articles and inspiring stories submitted by young people across the globe.

Catriona Rae, our Senior Education and Learning Officer commented, “I’m thrilled that Amellie’s article has been recognised on the international stage.    It was brilliant to have the members of the International Jury beam into our online and live in person awards ceremony, and to connect the Scottish entrants with the global family – but to have entries recognised at this level from Scotland is just amazing.

"We're now calling for entries for the 2027 Young Reporters for the Environment competition and will be accepting entries until 14 February 2027. You can find out about the categories and criteria on these pages."

We run Young Reporters for the Environment on behalf of the Foundation of Environmental Education, as part of our Climate Action Schools programme which is a framework of education initiatives funded by the Scottish Government to support Scotland’s educators and young people to progress Learning for Sustainability.   The Young Reporters for the Environment competition in Scotland has been sponsored by HP for 2026.