To celebrate National Forest Week (NFW) 2025, the Canadian Institute of Forestry invited youth to participate in the 4th Annual NFW Poetry Contest.

We received a number of entries demonstrating impressive creativity, expression and imagination. The Contest theme was: “What do the trees and forests teach us about growing stronger and working together?”

After careful review, we are pleased to announce the winners per age category and province/territory:

• Aditi Bhowmik (Grade 10, British Columbia) 

Read their poem below!

What do the trees and forests teach us about growing stronger and working together?

By Aditi Bhowmik (Grade 10, British Columbia)

Rooted

The forest teaches in quiet ways
How to stand without standing alone;
How roots below the earth reach out like hands in the dark,
finding one another,
sharing strength without words.
Leaves don’t compete for the sun
they catch what falls,
letting light slip through,
making room for those beneath.
When storms come,
trees don’t fight the wind alone.
They bend,
they lean,
hold each other steady,
knowing— the forest is stronger when no one stands apart.
And so we learn—
to grow is to sustain,
support,
rise together,
like trees in the hush of the woods,
rooted deep,
bound by something unseen,
never out of reach.

A sincere thank you to everyone who entered our 4th Annual NFW Youth Poetry Contest. We received a number of entries demonstrating impressive creativity, expression and imagination. Stay tuned for the next NFW Poetry Contest in 2026!