The Forestry Challenge is an academic event for high school students in technical forestry and current forestry topics. Since its inception in 2003, the program has grown from one event to five.
They recently held two events in the Green Valley Lake area, on Nov. 6 through 11 and Nov. 15 through 18. A total of 230 students and 45 teachers and chaperones from 25 schools participated.
Participants spend four days in the forest, learning about the ecology and management of the forested landscapes that provide communities with water, recreational opportunities, wood products and wildlife habitat.
The students are taught the basic principles of forestry, connecting classroom math and science to hands-on experiences with real-world applications.
By interacting with natural resource professionals – including foresters, hydrologists, soil scientists, wildlife biologists and fire scientists – the students have the opportunity to explore careers.
Forestry professionals spend time with the students, familiarizing them with common tree species, forestry tools and the use of identification keys. Then, working in three- to five-person teams, the students complete a comprehensive field test, which includes identifying and measuring trees, analyzing stand data and making forest management decisions. The scores from the testing stations are combined and become 60 percent of the team’s final score.
The students are also presented with a current focus topic and visit the site of a case study to ask questions and collect data. They use the information they collect to weigh in on the topic, often influencing the decisions made about managing the forest in the future. Focus topics included community wildfire protection, even-aged plantation management and forest inventory.
Finally, the students have to put together a 15-minute presentation, guided by two consultation sessions with a registered professional forester. A panel of judges score the presentation, which is worth 40 percent of the final score.
Four teams from Session 1 and 10 from Session 2 scored over 200 out of a possible 250 points; they will be invited to a championship event in Tuolumne County in April 2024.
Olivia LaVia of Palisades Charter High School performing one of the exercises during the Forestry Challenge.
The top-placing teams in Session 1 were Palisades Charter High School Team #11 (215.3 points); Oxford Academy Team #9 (212.0 points); Palisades Charter High School Team #10 (210.8 points); John F. Kennedy High School Team #1 (206.2 points); and Charter Oak High School Team #16 (188.3 points).
The students from Session 2 of the Forestry Challenge at HUME SoCal near Green Valley Lake.
The top-placing teams in Session 2 were Oceanside High School Team #27 (222.7 points); Mariposa County High School Team #20 (213.3 points); Granada Hills Charter Team #25 (210.2 points); Oceanside High School Team #26 (205.7 points); and Mariposa County High School Team #19 (205.3 points).
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