European Forest Week 2021

The Value of Forests photo contest

Forest ‘playground’ wins European Forest Week photo contest 


Julia Kelly from the United Kingdom has won the European Forest Week ‘Value of Forests’ photo contest with her entry “Forêt de la Combe”.

FAO received over 100 photos from 34 countries for the contest, which challenged people to show the ways in which the region’s forests contribute to human health, wealth and wellbeing, harbour biodiversity and help combat climate change.

Swiss forester and photographer Christian Küchli chose four finalists who went to the public vote on FAO’s Facebook page, receiving over 2 000 likes and comments.


Photo: FAO/Julia KellyThe greatest number of votes went to Kelly’s photo, which shows a forest with a natural cascading stream near the Swiss village of Givrins, where she spent her childhood.

“This forest I grew up in gave me clean air and clean water but, most of all, a playground full of elves and other imaginary creatures,” said Kelly, a forest ecologist studying for a Master’s degree at Lund University in Sweden.

“These woods inspired me to be more adventurous, to go out alone, trust myself and my sense of direction, and go exploring.”

Kelly wins a trip to European Forest Week, which is taking place in Engelberg, Switzerland, 2-6 November 2015.

The other three finalists in the contest were Gervasio Ruíz Álvarez (Spain), Nuria Martínez Pascual (Spain) and Inger Marie Mulvad (Denmark).

See all the finalists and runners-up in the contest Flickr gallery.

The contest is now closed

Win a trip to the 3rd European Forest Week in Engelberg, Switzerland!

Deadline: Wednesday 14 October 2015 12:00 GMT

Enter the Value of Forests photo contest to help raise awareness about the value of Europe's forests, and you could win a trip to Switzerland.

We are looking for entries that show the ways in which forests are a source of life, provide us with clean air and water, food, energy, income and relaxation, and help combat climate change.

All photo entries should feature European forests.

Jury and prizes

Forester, journalist and photographer Christian Küchli will lead the jury. Küchli is the author of the award-winning Forests of Hope – Stories of Regeneration, a project for which he spent 12 years searching for forest success stories all over the world. 

The prize for the winner will be a trip to the European Forest Week (travel and accommodation) in Engelberg, Switzerland, 2-6 November 2015.

Shaghayegh Tschoepe-Shoeibi
Jan Husák
Inger Marie Mulvad
MARIA DEL PILAR PASTOR CALVO
Alice Cosatti
David Palacios García de la Rosa
JOSÉ LUIS MARTINEZ LOPEZ
Marcello Bizzarro
Julia Kelly
Piero Persello
JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ LOPEZ
GERVASIO RUIZ ALVAREZ
Igor Isakov
Jose Maria Iriarte Guembe
Katalin Csillery
Christopher Wedeman
Nandita Sarmah
Lilli Kaarakka
GERVASIO RUIZ ALVAREZ
Sónia Almeida
Kurt Zweifel
Lucia Pacella
Miclaus Mihaela
Giulia Sbrizza
Julia Martínez Lacámara
Patrick Spencer
Janette Martin
Piero Persello
Mar Ramos Sanz
Kirsika Kapp
Julia Martínez Lacámara
Christian Andres
JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ LOPEZ
Arturo Escobar
Ferenc Babinyec
Jan Husák
Mauryne VINCENT
emiliano stefanini
Christopher Wedeman
Péter Garamszegi
Franziska Kohn
Teodoro Marañón
Lisa Smyth
Jan Husák
Lucia Pacella
Luigi Guarino
Annie Frances Gray
Ignacio Sevillano
Arturo Escobar
Karlo Stipić
Coline Boonman
MARIA DEL PILAR PASTOR CALVO
Medrea Ionela
Thi Hai Hong Nguyen
Guillaume Aubert
GERVASIO RUIZ ALVAREZ
CARLOS ABAD LÓPEZ
MARIA DEL PILAR PASTOR CALVO
Ladislav Bakay
Natalia Balafa
Nuria Martinez Pascual
Jose Maria Iriarte Guembe
ramon colell canes