Win a holiday to the Cairngorms National Park with this competition! Image Credit: Paul Rysz

There’s an exciting opportunity for kids who want to be the next David Attenborough or Steve Backshall. The RSPB has announced a competition, in association with Cairngorms Nature, and the winner could be the next big thing in wildlife TV…

The RSPB is encouraging under 16s to upload 90 second clips to YouTube, showing off their presenting skills. The presenter of the best video will be named “Young Nature Presenter 2016” and will win an exciting wildlife-watching holiday with a BBC presenter.

The competition was publicised in a recent video from Iolo Williams, the wildlife presenter from the BBC. Iolo previously worked for the RSPB and has been described as a gay icon, thanks to his penchant for shorts. Iolo’s own breakthrough TV experience was a film about a national park, so he is keen to promote this opportunity for the next generation of presenters.

A Pine Marten — the star attraction of the Cairngorms National Park. Picture by Phil Fiddes

In his competition announcement, Iolo asks schoolchildren to film a video of themselves talking to camera, ideally with an animal in the shot, as if they were a real wildlife presenter. The RSPB suggests that children get an adult to help them out with uploading their video, but it’s likely that these kids will do it themselves. The portrait, selfie-style video from Iolo is clearly designed to appeal to the Vine generation who spend their lives on social media.

The overall competition winner will be rewarded with a wildlife-watching family holiday in the Cairngorms, courtesy of Speyside Wildlife. Highlights will hopefully include views of the local Pine Martens, over a 5 day stay. Iolo Williams himself will then meet up with the winner, to provide one-on-one tips on how to be a great TV presenter.

Get your entries in now, as, with so few views on the video, this is a great opportunity!

Details of how to enter the competition can be found at the link below:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/families/children/join_in/competitions/video-comp/