Camp Sylvester, Pinecrest
Event Program | Focus Topic Question | Presentation Score Sheet
Event Photos | Highest Scoring Presentation
The fourth Forestry Challenge Championship was held on April 20 to 22 at Camp Sylvester in Pinecrest, Tuolumne County. This year was the first full return to the Championship format since 2019, with only the top 25% of teams from the fall events earning the invitation. A total of 23 teams from 14 schools participated, including one team from Collège La Cité from Ottowa, Ontario, making this the first international Forestry Challenge event.
The focus topic was Creating a Fire Resilient Landscape in the Stanislaus National Forest. Students analyzed existing stand conditions and compared them to historic conditions, became familiar with the treatment prescription of a new project called the Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape (SERAL), created a sample “mark” on a 1/5 acre plot, then determined whether or not SERAL’s prescribed treatment can accomplish the goal of creating a resilient forest. During the Challenge, teams also completed a rigorous field test to assess their technical forestry knowledge and data-collecting skills. Prior to the start of the event, several school groups toured the Sierra Pacific Industries mill in Sonora.
Here are the results out of a possible 250 points:
First Place: Foresthill High School (Placer County), 215.3 points
Second Place: Mira Loma High School (Sacramento County), 214.7 points
Third Place: Ross School (Marin County), 202.5 points
Fourth Place: Golden Sierra High School (El Dorado County), 197.4 points
Fifth Place: Granada Hills High School ( Los Angeles County), 192.8 points
Other high schools at the Championship were: Benicia (Contra Costa), Bret Harte (Calaveras), Charter Oak (Los Angeles), Oceanside (San Diego), Oxford (Orange), Palisades (Los Angeles), Summerville (Tuolumne), and Ulysses S. Grant ( Los Angeles).