Earth Photo exhibition of world’s beauty and fragility to go on show in Dalby Forest

Blue Pool, by Markus Van Hauten, from the Earth Photo exhibition at Staindale in Dalby Forest

FORESTRY England will exhibit a selection of Earth Photo images in Dalby Forest, near Pickering, from June 28 to September 19.

The outdoor exhibition will display 24 of the final shortlisted entries in the beautiful forest setting of Staindale.

Earth Photo, an international competition and exhibition created by Forestry England and the Royal Geographical Society, in tandem with the Institute of British Geographers, showcases photographs and videos that document the natural world, both its beauty and ever-growing fragility.

The selection of images encompasses the Earth Photo categories: People, Place, Nature and Changing Forests. A Climate of Change, the competition’s newest category, marks the United Nations climate-change summit COP26, to be held in Glasgow in November.

Petra Young, Forestry England’s funding and development manager for the Yorkshire district, says: “We’re delighted to be once again one of three of the nation’s forests hosting the selected Earth Photo exhibition. This is a crucial year to shine a light on the natural world, our relationship with it and how we can better support it.

Coffee Or Tea Study, by Yi Sun Sun, from the Earth Photo outdoor exhibition in Dalby Forest

“COP26 will focus minds on the pressing issues that face our environment. The last year showed so many of us just how much we value and need nature to restore our wellbeing. Being able to see these Earth Photo images in the heart of Dalby Forest is a very special experience and we welcome everyone to visit safely and see them.”

This is the latest exhibition in Dalby Forest’s arts programme to showcase art that interprets the landscape, wildlife, heritage and people, created by Yorkshire, national and international artists.

The full Earth Photo exhibition will share the June 28 opening date at the Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London, for a run until the end of August before touring Forestry England forests at Moors Valley in Dorset and Grizedale in Cumbria.

Category winners and the overall winner will be announced on August 19 at an awards event at the Royal Geographical Society. More information on the Dalby Forest exhibition can found at: forestryengland.uk/forest-event/events-dalby-forest/earth-photo-exhibition-2021-dalby-forest.

Did you know?

FORESTRY England, England’s largest land manager, cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, drawing more than 230 million visits per year.

THE STORY BEHIND ROSIE HALLAM’S EARTH PHOTO EXHIBIT, A RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION

Selamaw studying at home in Ethiopia, by Rosie Hallam

“EVERY child has the right to go to school,” says Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO. “It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that happens.”

UNESCO contends that education is both a basic human right and a smart investment, being vital for development and helping to lay the foundations for social well-being, economic growth and security, gender equality and peace.

Education is the frontline of defence in tackling diseases such as Ebola, by teaching children about how they can protect themselves and their families.

Rosie’s photograph captures the story of 14-year-old Selamaw, the first person in her family to stay on at school past primary age. Her parents, Marco and Meselech, are subsistence farmers in a village near Aleta Chuko, Sidamo, Ethiopia.

They are part of a programme designed to help children from the poorest Ethiopian families remain in school while assisting the mothers to set up a business with a seed fund made up of a small donation and savings.

While Selamaw goes to school, her mother, Meselech, is learning literacy and numeracy skills and attending business classes. She hopes to set up a business selling crops and flour.

Through this programme, Meselech aims to earn enough money to keep Selamaw in school and to allow her other children to receive an education, eventually breaking their cycle of poverty.