A tide of wild garlic, a bird on alert and new life in PEFC Belgium’s photo contest

8 August 2022 Forests in photos

PEFC Belgium has announced the winners of its 2022 Experience Forests, Experience PEFC Photo Contest, selected from almost 750 entries.

“This year's award list takes us from forest to forest and immerses us in poetic and magical atmospheres,” said Valérie Squelart from PEFC Belgium.

“A huge thank you to all the participants for sharing their passion for forests with us. They help us to fulfil our mission to make the world's forests more sustainable through certification.”

The winners

The winner of PEFC Belgium’s photo contest is Glenn Strypsteen with the photo ‘Wild Garlic’, taken in a Dutch forest.

“This photo was taken on a beautiful Sunday morning in a small forest in the Netherlands close to the German border. The forest looked like a fairy tale with small winding paths running through the wild garlic. The sun was relatively high and made the garlic sparkle,” he explained.

Isabelle Modave came in second with her photo ‘En Standby’, taken in Dinant, Belgium.

Andrea Otte took third place for the photo ‘Nieuw Leven’ (‘New Life’), taken in Brecht in the province of Antwerp, Belgium.

“Spring always heralds new life and thus a new beginning,” she explains.

“I found this in the uncurling of this young fern. Often we walk past it like an everyday plant in the forest, but if you look closely, the fern is like a flower that has awoken from a long sleep.”

The Prizes

For first place, Glenn wins a €150 voucher, a one-year subscription to National Geographic, and the opportunity to be a judge in Belgium’s 2023 national photo contest.

For second and third place Isabelle and Andrea each win a one-year subscription to National Geographic.

The three photos will compete in the international contest to become the 2022 PEFC Photographer of the Year.

To discover more photos entered into the Belgian contest, head to Instagram and look for #experiencepefc2022.