Winner of “The many uses of wood” Category of Teagasc Forest Photo Competition Announced

The Teagasc Forestry Development Department today, Friday, 26 November, announced the prize recipients in Category 2 of its forest photo competition ‘Celebrating Our Forests and Wood Use’. The category winner is Ms. Elaine Fleming.

As Elaine explains, her winning image, entitled ‘Spoons’, shows her partner’s spoons that he began to make during the first COVID-19 lockdown for use during dinner service. She continues to say that wood has a wonderful tactile quality and with these handmade spoons, they tell a story. The story of how they were carved; how each action led to its form; these spoons were created by hand and are uniquely individual just like the trees they started out as. 

Elaine’s winning image was selected from a range of pictures conveying the many uses of wood. As winner of Category 2, Elaine will receive vouchers valued at €300. Elaine’s winning entry will also progress to the Grand Final on December 7. On that date, she will also be in contention, along with the Category 1 winner, for a further €500 in vouchers as overall competition winner.

Two selected runners up also submitted excellent images to the competition.

“Woven bridgehead” by Mr Paul Dalton, runner up of “The many uses of wood” Category of the Teagasc Forest Photo Competition         

“Biodegradable dog toys” by Mr. Noel Lehane, runner up of “The many uses of wood” Category of the Teagasc Forest Photo Competition   

Both highlight the wide range of uses of forests and wood.

In congratulating Elaine on his achievement, Teagasc Research Officer Dheeraj Rathore said: “When we reviewed the photos submitted together, Elaine’s image caught the eye. Elaine’s message, along with the photo, really covered my feelings towards it – they tell a story and each one is unique, wood is a highly tactile and most useful material and this photo shows how wood can be integrated into our daily lives.”

The winning photo, along with the runners up for the “The many uses of wood” competition, will shortly be available for viewing on the forestry section of the Teagasc website at www.teagasc.ie/forestphotos21 . This competition is coordinated by Teagasc with support from the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). Once again, Teagasc sincerely thanks all competition participants.