Santa Cruz Forestry Challenge – October 10 to 13, 2018
Redwood Christian Park
2018 Event Program | 2018 Focus Topic Question | 2018 Presentation Scoresheet
2018 Slideshow | 2018 Student Evaluations | 2018 Teacher Evaluations
Highest Scoring Presentation
Towering redwoods and perfect fall weather attracted schools from the Central Valley and Southern California, as well as a few local schools, for the 2018 Santa Cruz Forestry Challenge. One of the highlights for the students this year was learning how to conduct “Brown’s Transects”, a method to quantify woody debris in a natural landscape. Students measured surface fuel at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in an area that was recently treated to control vegetation and rehabilitate the Santa Cruz Sandhills ecosystem. The data gathered and modeling of fire behavior in the treated versus untreated units will help Park managers promote this ongoing vegetation management project to the public. A total of 69 students and 11 chaperones from 7 schools participated.
The results below are out of a possible 250 points:
- First Place: Granada Hills Charter High School Team 10, 201.7 points
- Second Place: Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center (ERCLC) Team 1, 201.5 points
- Third Place: Granada Hills Charter High School High School Team 11, 194.8 points
- Fourth Place: San Lorenzo Valley High School Team 18, 191.8 points
- Fifth Place: San Lorenzo Valley High School Team 15, 188.7 points
Littlerock High School won the Pacing Contest, with ERCLC and Granada Hills coming in second and third. The top two teams have guaranteed spots at the Championship, scheduled for April 18 to 20 in Tuolumne County.
Other schools at the Challenge were: Golden Valley, Monache, and Woodside.
2018 Santa Cruz Forestry Challenge group photo