Photo Competition - Celebrating The New Forestry Programme 2023-2027

Teagasc Forest Photo Competition 2023

Teagasc has launched its annual forestry photo competition with new junior category.

'Celebrating The New Forestry Programme 2023-2027' is a three-themed photo competition that focuses on the multi-functional nature of forests, from timber production to biodiversity enhancement. The competition provides a great opportunity for budding (non-professional) photographers and photo enthusiasts to get snapping while being in with a chance to win exciting prizes. This year, we are introducing a new junior category for anybody under 18 years of age.

Enter the competition here  | View the terms & conditions here

Competition & Prizes

The 'Celebrating the New Forestry Programme 2023-2027' competition focuses on three consecutive forest themes running from October to December, 2023.

The competition has two seperate categories this year, an adult category and a junior category. Each theme has a prize of €300 for an adult category winner and €300 for a junior category winner.

Each adult and junior theme winner also goes forward to a Grand Final on 15 December, when a further €300 prize will be given to the overall category winners for both adult and junior categories.

Themes

This year's competition features three themes: Trees and Biodiversity, Farming and Trees and The Forest Harvest (see table below).  

Trees and Biodiversity

To kick off the competition, the first theme, 'Trees and Biodiversity', is running from October 5 to October 26. This theme focuses on the animal and plant life in and around forests, how and where forests provide shelter and food for animals including insects, birds and mammals, as well as other flowering plants. 

Trees on the farm

The competition will feature the second theme 'Trees on the Farm' between October 27 and November 20. This theme covers all aspects of trees on the farm and how forests and trees are integrated into other farming activities and into the overall landscape. Trees provide shelter from wind and sun for farm animals and can help in protecting water courses. 

The Forest Harvest 

The final theme, 'The Forest Harvest' will continue between November 21 and December 11. This is a celebration of all that we can get from forests. Of course, there is construction timber, one of the most valuable forest materials used by humans. But other harvests include fungi, berries and firewood. Perhaps another product from the forest is the wellbeing and health benefits of spending time amongst the trees.

Overall winners announced!

The overall winners of the 2023 Teagasc forest photo competition were announced today by the Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Senator Pippa Hackett.

This year’s competition, "Celebrating the New Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027", had three themes and, for the first time, both an adult and junior age category.

The overall winner in the adult category is Adrian Nolan from County Galway. Adrian’s striking photo is very well composed and reminds us that fungi play an essential role in the forest cycle, and as part of its biodiversity, and are often overlooked.

In the junior category, the deserving winner is Jake Byrne from Kilkenny. Jake’s image was simple, yet really impactful. It captured the sense of fun that can be had from a few pieces of timber combined with a good sprinkling of imagination.

Category winners

The winning images of the three featured categories: Trees and Biodiversity, Trees on the Farm and The Forest Harvest in both the adult and junior categories can be viewed below (click on each image to enjoy a larger version).