Presented by a Non-Profit501(c)3 Corporation
Message from the Executive Director Diane Dealey Neill As I think back on 2022, three things come to mind. First, as far as school fieldtrips are concerned, the pandemic is over! After Covid restrictions halted in-person events in 2020 and limited them even in 2021, students were allowed to get back to hands-on learning experiences in 2022. We held the first Championship event since 2019 and had record numbers at the fall events. Increasing demand prompted us to run two sessions in San Bernardino and we will continue with 5 fall events in 2023. Second, new grant funding through the CalFire Workforce Development Grant program closed the gap in covering facility fees so, for the first time in 20 years, participants attended free of charge! Third, we branched out (no pun intended) with a project with the Board of Forestry to conduct outreach to colleges and universities, as well as the public, to increase awareness of California’s professional forester’s licensing process. Our daily office staff is experienced and ready to continue to grow the program to its fullest capacity over the next several years. Another first for us is the ability to provide medical benefits to the office staff, thanks to the Workforce Development grant. I hope you enjoy reading this report and, through the photographs, enjoy taking in the natural beauty of our California forests. 2022 at a Glance 498 students 116 teachers 63 schools 122 teams 161 volunteers 2,241 volunteer hours $138,127 volunteer in-kind value Staff Photo: Ranae Hawkey, Diane Dealey Neill, Chris Dias, Kelsy Sozzi and Miriam Caldera In 2021, FEI hired Registered Professional Forester Robert Little to assist with our licensing outreach contract. He attended the 2022 Society of American Foresters annual meeting to promote forestry in California and was visited by Forestry Challenge alumni and Northern Arizona University senior Emily Staller.
Awards Scholarships Tom Eustis Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence Presented to Bret Harnden Bret Harnden, from Ponderosa High School, who has brought students to the challenge for 17 years and organizes our booth at the California Ag Teacher’s Association conference, was given the Tom Eustis Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Autumn Pecarovich CalPoly Humboldt Nishita Dashpute UC Berkeley Continuing their support, Redwood Empire and the Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman’s Club awarded scholarships to assist Forestry Challenge alumni. Recipients must be enrolled in a educational program that leads to a degree or certificate in forestry or a closely related field. Each of these two received both scholarships in 2022. The George Little Memorial Award for Volunteer Excellence Presented to Steve Whitehorn Steve Whitehorn, a Retired Forester, who has been volunteering at events since 2018 and has recruited additional volunteers, was named Volunteer of the Year. Steve brings levity to any situation and is passionate about Oregon State and microbrews.
Full Circle Ryan Wimmer, a four-year Forestry Challenge participant, Humboldt grad, and RPF #3060, is now a CalFire Division Chief in charge of resource management training. Here he is at the Championship event. Billy Adams and Noah Van Atta attended the 2016 and 2017 El Dorado events with Don Pedro High School, a small high school in rural Stanislaus County. These best friends started volunteering in the fall of 2022 and have become an integrated part of the Forestry Challenge event staff. Billy is a fire fighter with the Bureau of Land Management and Noah is a state park employee at Sugar Pine Point State Park. Ellen Van Noy participated in the Forestry Challenge with Nevada Union High School. She went on to get her teaching credential and now teaches agriculture at Fall River High School. This year she brought one team that placed second at the Shasta event, the first time FRHS has participated. While at the event, she enjoyed catching up with her former teacher Katie Alling. Parent Testimonial My daughter Avery participated at this year’s Santa Cruz event with Benicia High School and really enjoyed the experience. In addition to sharing with us her excitement and interest in some of what she learned, she also has said many times that it was the best camp food she’s ever had. She’s been to many scout camps and is vegan so the fact that the camp accommodated a variety of meal options (beyond tater tots) was a big win! -Brian Weaver, Parent and Sponsor Emphasis on College and Career Students had the option to earn one unit of credit through LTCC’s new forestry program Visit to Shasta HELO Program Swag raffles University student volunteers 2013 2022
Sponsors Associated California Loggers Amador Resource Conservation District American AgCredit Anderson Logging Bejac Big Creek Lumber Company Bordges Timber Brian Weaver California Forestry Association Clif Bar Family Foundation Collins Pine Crane Mills C.T.L. Forest Management Emerson Logging Fruit Growers Supply Company Inland Empire Resource Conservation Dist. J & R Logging Jefferson Resource Company Mason Bruce & Girard, Inc. Mendocino Redwood Company Mike Mapes Metropolitan Water District of Southern CA Pacific Forest Foundation Ten Mile Parker Ranch PG&E Corporation Foundation Matt Waverly Placer County Resource Conservation District Red River Forests, LLC Redwood Empire Robinson Enterprises Shasta Forests Timberlands, LLC Sierra Cascade Logging Conference Sierra Forests Products Sierra Nevada Conservancy Sierra Pacific Foundation Special Projects, LLC The Pape Group Timber Products Company Trinity River Lumber Company Woolery Timber Management Financial Summary FUNDING SOURCE CCI Fire Prevention Grant $ 135,434.48 Sponsor Contributions $ 69,722.61 CalFire Workforce Dev. Grant $ 59,472.58 USFS Forest Stewardship Grant $ 52,460.00 Board of Forestry Project $ 13,131.75 TOTAL FUNDING $ 330,221.42 EXPENSES Personnel Executive Director $ 48,263.64 Office Assistant $ 28,111.25 IT Manager $ 29,296.00 Events Assistants $ 8,808.00 Board of Forestry Outreach $ 3,385.06 Subtotal - Personnel $ 117,863.95 Employee Benefits Health Insurance $ 6,738.37 Unemployment and Workers Comp $ 6,546.54 Subtotal - Employee Benefits $ 13,284.91 Travel Rental Vehicles $ 11,473.20 Volunteer Mileage $ 2,166.78 Airfare $ 2,821.57 Employee Mileage $ 1,541.25 Conference Registration $ 1,956.34 Hotels $ 1,749.65 Subtotal - Travel $ 21,708.79 Supplies T-Shirts $ 9,397.41 Event Food $ 6,748.09 Supplies/Consumable $ 4,940.97 Printing $ 2,213.06 Postage $ 951.79 Awards $ 746.93 Subtotal - Supplies $ 24,998.25 Contractual Total Facility Fees $ 121,664.09 Liability Insurance $ 4,058.87 Website and IT $ 2,883.27 Legal/Professional $ 1,076.09 Subtotal - Contractual $ 129,682.32 Other Sub and School Transportation $ 19,340.16 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 326,878.38
After a two-year Covid gap, the Forestry Challenge Championship was held on April 21 to 23 at Camp Sylvester in Pinecrest, Tuolumne County. Participation was at pre-pandemic levels, with 61 students from 10 schools in attendance. The pause to this event allowed the reexamination of the format and an update of the focus topic to be more of a big-picture, conceptual topic rather than a data-centric topic like the fall events. The focus topic highlighted the hundreds of relationships between multiple federal, state, local, and private stakeholders involved in solving the wildfire crisis and how those relationships can be strengthened to get work done. CHAMPIONSHIP Camp Sylvester, April 21-23 Amador Calaveras Charter University Prep El Dorado Eleanor Roosevelt Foresthill Golden Sierra Granada Hills Charter Nevada Union Palisades Charter A cold late-season storm brought about 8 inches of snow as everyone arrived on Thursday, which was a new experience for many of the students.
Students had the opportunity to interact with stakeholders both evenings in an exposition-style format where they could move freely between stakeholders and interview them according to their preferences. SERAL and SPI Students went to the field to see a collaborative project in action, the SERAL project (Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape). Prior to the start of the event, several school groups toured the Sierra Pacific Industries mill in Sonora and tours were also given at the SPI mill at Chinese Camp after the event. During the Challenge, teams also completed a rigorous field test to assess their technical forestry knowledge and data collecting skills. State Champions from Foresthill High School: Kelly Cantrell, Sloan Farinha, and Clay Cantrell
The First Place went to Team 8 from Mt. Shasta. With a great start to the fall event season, the Shasta Forestry Challenge had 72 students from 15 schools in attendance. The focus topic for this event was conducting an inventory and post-treatment evaluation of two units of the North 49 Forest Health Recovery project, a 42,400 acre project designed to increase fire resiliency and restore pre settlement conditions, located on the Hat Creek Ranger District of the Lassen National Forest. Students used the data they collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment and predict stand conditions into the future. SHASTA Camp McCumber, Sept. 25 - 28 Anderson New Tech Anderson Union Argonaut Butte Valley Elk Creek Emerald Earth Homeschool Etna Fall River Mt. Shasta Nevada Union Northern Summit Academy Orland Shasta View Academy Trinity Weed Butte Valley High School took home the Coveted Board Foot Trophy, accepted by star pacer Victor Garcia.
HELO Site Tour The Heavy Equipment and Logging Operations (HELO) program at Shasta College hosted Forestry Challenge participants at their field training site, allowing students to check out the heavy equipment . Students also had a sit down session about their forestry program and a demonstration from the drone program that included hands-on practice with training drones. Dean Lofthus teaches a student how to use a Biltmore stick. Students played frisbee during free time under a starlit sky. After watching the equipment work, students had the opportunity to look at it up close and climb into the cabs. Students got hands-on practice with the drones.
Reaching near-capacity use of the facility at Redwood Glen, the Santa Cruz Forestry Challenge had 110 students from 18 schools in attendance. We conducted a forest inventory and post-treatment evaluation on the Camp Butano Forest Health Project, a 44 acre project designed to enhance and restore a forest system challenged by lack of fire and changing climates with many homes in close proximity to camp borders. Students used the data they collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment and predict stand conditions into the future. 1st Place: Foresthill HS Team 25, 226.5 points Elijah Tomlin and Four Year Seniors Sloan Farinha and Kelly Cantrell SANTA CRUZ Redwood Glen , Oct. 12 – 15 Amador Benicia Bradshaw Christian Branson Bret Harte Calero Foresthill Granada Hills Half Moon Bay Learning for Life Liberty Sheldon Summerville Team Hager Venture Academy Historic Durham Ferry Woodside Venture Academy won the Pacing Contest with Owen Rockemann as their star pacer.
Upon returning from the event, Calero High School teacher Joe Van Sambeek wrote, “My kids are still talking about the experience and even yesterday were asking about next year, and if they can go. It was definitely a life changing experience for them. Thank you for the work you do to provide thousands of young people with challenges, experiences, information and choices for their futures and to better our planet.” Forester John Nicoles is a mainstay at Forestry Challenge events, and serves as MC for the awards assembly, essentially the event's graduation. He often dons amusing headwear, this one being his "Mortar Board Foot." Accessing the treated unit was a challenge, with a mile-long hike and a significant elevation gain. Treated units are much easier to work with because an open landscape makes the learning experience better.
The El Dorado Forestry Challenge had 112 students from 16 schools in attendance. The focus topic for this event was to collect data on natural regeneration within Leoni Meadows after the Caldor fire. The students determined if the natural regeneration of seedlings was sufficient to support the growth of a new, healthy and diverse forest environment across the 900 acre property. With a score of 212.7 Team 15, from El Dorado High School took the trophy home: Aubrey Bonham, Trevor Hahn, Charlie Liske EL DORADO Leoni Meadows, Oct. 26 - 29 Charter University Prep Cordova El Dorado Eleanor Roosevelt Folsom Golden Sierra Grant Union John F Kennedy Mira Loma Mountain Oaks Pacific Crest Academy Placer Ponderosa Sequoia Grove Charter Alliance Vista Del Lago West Campus Placer High School won the Pacing Contest: Jenna Tiger and Lucia Matysakova
Students took a break from rigorous field work having some fun on Leoni’s Go-Karts. Board of Forestry member Rich Wade shared his knowledge with the students. Working in an early successional forest was a departure from normal Forestry Challenge events, but students took their field test in the unburned area, giving them a chance to use clinometers, angle gauges, and Biltmore sticks. Leoni Meadows began salvage logging immediately after the fire and has logged most of their 900 acre property, all except 40 acres of which burned at high intensity. Ricky Shurtz, a Registered Professional Forester with Jefferson Resource Company, led tours of the salvage operations. The lack of a dense forest was conducive to a large-scale cruise. Teams were able to spread out over 500 acres and cruise three distinct areas with different harvest schedules.
First Place went to Team 8 from Oxford Academy, earning the highest score of any fall event. “I cannot begin to tell you about the impact that Forestry Challenge had on me. It was such a special time to learn and practice first hand about forestry, meet with professionals in the field, and experience it all in a fun and challenging way. I truly appreciate all that you did to plan and make it happen.” –Lelah Shapiro, Senior at Granada Hills Charter Seeing double? That’s no mistake! With an incredible amount of interest this year, we held 2 sessions at the San Bernardino location. The San Bernardino Forestry Challenge, both events combined, had 141 students from 16 schools in attendance. The focus topic for this event was to collect data on the camp property and provide guidance for a new Forest Management Plan. Four-Year Senior Award Izzy Lopez Charter Oak SAN BERNARDINO SESSION 1 Hume SoCal, Nov. 9 - 12 Anaheim Charter Oak Cypress Littlerock Oxford Academy Palisades Charter Riverside Polytechnic
Evening work time is when students begin to connect their field work to the data sets. First Place at the second SB event went to Team 8 with a total of 204.5 points from Ulysses S. Grant High School. SAN BERNARDINO SESSION 2 Hume SoCal, Nov. 16 - 19 Esperanza College Prep Lynwood Marco Antonio Firebaugh Oceanside Ulysses S. Grant Vista Jarrod Dowden from Black Fox Timber Oceanside won the Pacing Contest with their star pacers Sarah Anderson and Ambrielle Anton.
What is Forestry Challenge? The Forestry Challenge is an academic competition for high school students in technical forestry and current forestry topics. The four-day events are held in five locations throughout California. 3140 Sierrama Drive (530) 417-1960 Shingle Springs, CA95682 www.forestrychallenge.org Forestry Educators Incorporated Forestry Educators Incorporated is the non-profit corporation that administers the Forestry Challenge. Meeting twice annually, the Board consists of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer. President Tim Cary is an attorney specializing in representing school districts, Secretary Jill Engelmann is a human resources specialist, and Treasurer Rich Wade is a Registered Professional Forester and a member of the CA Board of Forestry. The Forestry Challenge is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment - particularly in disadvantaged communities. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). Goal #1: 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. Goal #2: Give students the opportunity to explore careers by interacting with natural resource professionals including foresters, hydrologists, soil scientists, wildlife biologist, and fire scientist. Goal #3: 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.