Student inspired by letter from Sir David Attenborough

Budding poet Ruby Fielding, 13, says she is ‘absolutely thrilled’ after receiving a handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough. The letter came as a response after Ruby sent Attenborough some copies of her poetry on climate change.

Covering various topics within her poetry, Ruby has previously written pieces about Anne Frank and Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, before delving into sustainability-focused poetry last year. As Ruby’s inspiration in this field, she sent two of her poems, ‘Time to Act’ and ‘Governments of the World’, to Attenborough, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a response, which read:

“Thank you for your letter and for sending me a copy of your poem. 

“I am so glad you found inspiration in my programmes. Best wishes, David Attenborough”.

When asked about her love of poetry, Ruby said:

“Why do I love poetry? I enjoy the challenge of finding relevant words that rhyme. I find the rhyming flow of words comforting and relaxing.

“As for receiving a handwritten letter from David Attenborough, what can I say? I’m absolutely thrilled! It will forever be a treasured possession, and I will have it framed".

Ruby’s mum Tracey, added:

“When it comes to poetry competitions, if I find a relevant category, we’ll enter one of Ruby’s poems. Luckily, so far, all Ruby's competition entries have resulted in a publication.”

Ruby, a Year 9 student at Outwood Academy Ripon, started writing poetry in primary school and has now composed over 25 poems, with seven of them being published. Two of the poems, ‘Take a Moment’ and ‘Where I Live’, were previously published as part of the Ripon Poetry Festival, and five others have been published nationally in publications such as Live Canon UK and Young Writers Anthologies.