Title
Supervisor Ranalli recommending the Board receive a presentation on the El Dorado Forestry Challenge. (Est. Time: 20 Min,)
Body
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, a complete buildout of the program in California. The current five events are held in El Dorado, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Sequoia and Shasta.
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. Youth benefit by better understanding the relationship of the forested environment to their community, by exposure to natural resource management as a potential career option, and by undertaking a rigorous critical thinking exercise which is timely and addresses current forestry topics such as wildfire, insects, and forest health.
The goals of the Forestry Challenge are to:
Teach students the basic principles of forestry, connecting classroom math and science to hands-on experiences with real-world applications, enabling them to make recommendations about natural resource management.
Give students the opportunity to explore careers by interacting with natural resource professionals including foresters, hydrologists, soil scientists, wildlife biologists, and fire scientists.
Provide an opportunity for a diverse student population to experience outdoor recreation and develop an appreciation for the forest and its benefits to us all. Extracurricular activities can include a night hike in the woods with a biologist, zip line, ride on a narrow gauge railroad, and evening bonfire.
The objectives of the Forestry Challenge seek to ensure that:
Students gain scientific knowledge and learn practical skills involved in environmental stewardship, as well as understand the complexities of bal...
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