Waterford pupils encouraged to shoot their trees
Fourth class students from St. Helen's SNS, Portmarnock, Ãine Nixon, Eva Hennessy, and Ellen Burke celebrating the return of the Coillte Schools Photography Competition. Pic: Julien Behan Photography
Students across County Waterford are being encouraged to go out and shoot their trees.
However, the 'shooting' in this case is through the lens of a camera as Coillte is inviting primary schools in Waterford to take part in the 2026 National Tree Week photography competition.
Schools in Waterford are invited to capture a photo of their favourite tree or outdoor nature space, for a chance to win a class trip to Beyond the Trees Avondale, in Co Wicklow..â¯
The Schools Photography Competition is now open with entries accepted until 12 noon on Tuesday, February 24th.
National Tree Week will take place from Sunday, March 8, to Sunday, March 15. The theme of this year’s National Tree Week will be 'Growing a Greener Future Together'.
The competition, which will be third time it's been run, was launched in celebration of National Tree Week.
An aim of the competition is to celebrate the important role Ireland's trees, forests and woodlands play in building a greener, more sustainable future.
Last year’s competition attracted hundreds of entries from across the country and the four winning entries came from schools in counties Wicklow, Cork, Galway and Donegal, with classes taking part from junior infants to sixth class.
The competition is designed to encourage students to connect with nature and reflect on the importance of trees.
Schools are invited to submit a photograph, along with a short explanation as to why the tree or outdoor space captured is meaningful to them, through coillte.ie/national-tree-week/.
National Tree Week, an initiative of The Tree Council of Ireland and supported by Coillte, will feature a wide variety of free events across Ireland designed to inspire, educate, and connect people of all ages to the importance and benefits of trees and forests.
Commenting on the photography competition, Pat Neville, Communications Manager at Coillte said: “The Coillte Schools Photography Competition has proven really popular among schools right across the country in recent years. Initiatives like this are designed to encourage a deeper appreciation of trees and the natural world and to reflect on the benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood, and people. We’re excited to see the competition entries this year and encourage all schools to participate.”
