Photographs of a former asylum in Queensland, a picturesque jetty in Albany and a magical Tasmanian gorge have been named winners of Planet Ark’s national photography competition ‘Snap Some Wood’.
The competition is an initiative of Planet Ark’s ‘Make It Wood — Do Your World Some Good’ campaign, which promotes the environmental benefits of using responsibly sourced wood as a building material. Entrants were asked to submit a photo showing the versatility or beauty of wood.
One of the top spots was awarded to a photograph of former asylum Wolston Park, near Brisbane, captured by Chez Watts. Parts of Wolston Park were built in 1865; a testament to the wood’s resilience and strength.
“The reason I found the place so interesting is that my uncle used to work at the Wolston Hospital Complex which is part of the new grounds and had been inside this building before it had been condemned, sometime back in the 1970s,” said Watts. “Woogaroo has had a less than savoury past I am led to believe.”
A shot of Little Grove Jetty in Albany, Western Australia, took out equal first place.
Other competition entries ranged from photos of wooden building frames, iconic piers, valuable chests, furniture and fencing.
“Planet Ark is running this campaign to raise awareness of the environmental benefits of using responsibly sourced wood to make furniture or construct buildings and landmarks,” said Make it Wood Campaign Manager Chris Philpot.
Planet Ark is urging everybody to choose responsibly sourced wood when building, renovating or choosing furniture. As the carbon benefits of wood products are based upon the trees being responsibly harvested, consumers need to look for wood that is independently certified by schemes such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure high conservation value forests are protected.
To view other photos from the competition, visit MakeItWood.org
