This Saturday (July 16), award-winning poet Peter Ramm is coming to Nowra, to present a masterclass in poetry for writers aged 12-18.

The recent Manchester Writing Competition Winner will run a workshop inspired by the current Valley Pathways exhibit at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery.

By the end, each teen poet will have a work they can submit to the upcoming Poem Forest competition.

Poem Forest is a free nature writing prize, created by Red Room Poetry and the Australian Botanic Garden, which intends to breathe life back into the natural world.

The competition invites students and teachers to use their words to make positive climate action.

For every nature poem entered, a tree is planted to help heal habitats and create a Poem Forest for future generations.

Mr Ramm's workshop is presented by the South Coast Writers Centre, and is the kick-starter for an ongoing school holiday program tailored to young creatives.

South Coast Writers Centre director Dr Sarah Nicholson said there is much more on the horizon - students should keep an eye out at their local libraries and galleries.

"We are thrilled to be able to bring amazing writers to the Shoalhaven to work with budding young readers and writers," she said.

"In the October and December-January holidays there will be workshops at library venues in Ulladulla and Sanctuary Point, as well as at the gallery and the library in Nowra.

"Over the next couple of holiday periods, we'll have young adult authors giving talks and leading writing workshops; we will be bringing writers from Sydney, Wollongong and the far South Coast.

"We'll also be running book cover illustration workshops, a writing competition, and finally, we'll be creating and launching a publication from the writing that the young people who have attended our workshops create."

The Peter Ramm poetry workshop will run at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery on Saturday, July 16.

For more information and to book a place, contact South Coast Writers Centre.

The Poetry Pathways program is presented in a partnership between the South Coast Writers Centre, Shoalhaven Regional Art Gallery and Shoalhaven Libraries. It is part of the Holiday Break program supported by the Office for Regional Youth in partnership with Create NSW.