Celebrating Forests with a Photo Contest
Ameera Steward
Campus Writer
The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences celebrated The International Day of Forest for the first year with a photo contest.
According to a PhD student in the school of forestry and wildlife sciences, Shree Sharma Dangal, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences organized this event to commemorate the United Nations global celebration on the importance of forest. The purpose of having a contest was to create awareness among students in the Auburn University about how forests provide key ecosystem services such as food, water and energy necessary for life on earth.
Dangal said the contest was thought of by The School of Forestry and Wildlife Dean Janaki Alavalapati, Alumni professor Hanqin Tian and Mahendra Joshi. He also said the contest was open to all students within Auburn University and the deadline was March 28.
They will select the best photo based on the relevance to this years’ theme mostly and, artistic value and communication potential. A panel will judge the photo based on its essence and merit, and the photo will be recognized and awarded in the School of Forestry and Wildlife building on April 4.
The International Day of Forest is celebrated every year March 21. The United Nations Forum on Forests celebrates to raise awareness of the importance of forests to humans and society. Every year the United Nations comes up with a theme to celebrate International Day of Forests. This year’s theme is “Forests and Water."
“Forests cover one third of the world’s land and provide people with a number of essential goods and services including freshwater," said Tian. "This year on the International Day of Forests the global celebration of forests provides a platform to raise awareness of how forests play a key role in global water supply."
According to Joshi, celebrating the International Day of Forests in Auburn is like connecting with the nature and with the global community. It's a day to reflect on how important forests are to human well-being.
“We have received some photographs for the photo contest, which I personally feel are amazing," Dangal said. "Although we have limited activities this year to celebrate the International Day of Forests, we plan to include more programs in the coming years."
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