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My submission for Forest Flag Contest 2021 takes classic themes from Mount Seymour's beautiful design, and seeks to update them for our modern region. It is designed in accordance with The Five Principles recognized by vexillologists around the world, drawn from Ted Kaye's Good Flag, Bad Flag:

1) Keep It Simple

A good flag is a straight-forward design, easily remembered, and easily rendered. Excessive complication distracts from the purpose, and conveys a sense of scattered thoughts or "design by committee." Two equal stripes are surmounted by a central circular pattern rendered in inverse colors. A simple tree of geometric shapes provides focus without distraction.

2) Use Meaningful Symbolism

"We are the trees that grow, not the leaves that blow." The tree has long been the symbol of Forest, and not just any tree - an evergreen that thrives in all seasons, as we ourselves hope to do. Placed in the center of the flag, the forest lives in the heart of our region, much as it lives in our hearts as citizens: players who share concern for the environment. The tree is surrounded by a circle, representing both the circle of protection we seek to offer to the natural world, and the unbroken and everlasting nature of the circle of life. Two bands, the green of the environment and the white of our pure intentions, are penetrated by tendrils of each other's color - the environment's green meanders through our life, and our life's actions trace their way through the environment.

3) Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors

Green and white have long been the colors of our region, and are in use on all our symbols. Just as a tree may grow and thrive even after a forest fire has swept the land, somewhat altered but still the same tree, so too can our colors thrive after the fire of our Founder's CTE has swept through, giving the region the opportunity for new growth.

4) No Lettering or Seals

Related heavily to the simplicity demanded by Rule 1, we have no need of complicated patterns and the artifice of man. Simple, natural shapes communicate our message more clearly than any words or crest could manage.

5) Be Distinctive, Be Related

This flag recalls basic geometries of many classic flags in influential regions, but features a uniqueness that speaks to Forest. It is instantly recognizable as the emblem of our environmentally-motivated region, both by its colors and patterns, for those long familiar with us, but even to those who have never seen it before.

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This flag, quite obviously, draws heavily from Mount Seymour's longstanding regional flag, and the bulk of the design credit should therefore go to him. I merely worked from the outstanding flag he had already created, in order to create a modified symbol for our modified, but not wholly different, region.

The direct link to the image file for this flag is here:
https://i.imgur.com/oghlt8I.png