The Forestry Challenge had another record-breaking fall event season, with five events starting in late September and ending in mid-November. A total of 574 students (56% female) and 116 teachers from 71 schools attended the fall events, a 6.5% increase from 2023. Including the Championship event in April of 2024, the total attendance for 2024 was 696 students. For the second year, students had the option to receive one semester of college credit through an adjunct course offered through Feather River College.
A total of 200 individuals volunteered over 2,700 hours at the events, with 24 individuals volunteering at two or more events. The total volunteer in-kind value was $133,426.10. Cash donations from 40 companies, agencies, organizations, and individuals totaled $70,294.43. Funding from the US Forest Service and CalFire Climate Investment and Workforce Development grants rounded out the income for the year. Donations are used to support expenses that are not covered in our highly structured government grants.
Walt Ruzzo, the Forestry Challenge’s liaison to the three California universities with forestry programs who has spearheaded the effort to connect our program with university resources and support, was awarded the George Little Memorial Award for Volunteer Excellence.
Amara Smallwood, a teacher from Golden Sierra High School, who has brought students to events every year since 2016 and has been instrumental in promoting forestry education and work experience programs in her community, was given the Tom Eustis Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence.
Here are the top-scoring teams from around the state.
| Rank | Score | School | From (County) | Event |
| 1 | 226.4 | Foresthill High School, Team #12 | Foresthill (Placer) | El Dorado |
| 2 | 223.8 | Golden Sierra High School, Team #6 | Garden Valley (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 3 | 221.3 | Granada Hills Charter High School, Team #26 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | El Dorado |
| 4 | 216.3 | Charter Oak High School, Team #11 | Covina (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 1 |
| 5 | 215.3 | El Dorado High School, Team #3 | Placerville (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 6 | 215.1 | Oxford Academy High School, Team #24 | Cypress (Orange) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 7 | 214.5 | Golden Sierra High School, Team #7 | Garden Valley (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 8 | 214.3 | Granada Hills Charter High School, Team #21 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 9 | 213.7 | Oceanside High School, Team #18 | Oceanside (San Diego) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 10 | 213.4 | Oak Ridge High School, Team #37 | El Dorado Hills (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 11 | 213.3 | Granada Hills Charter High School, Team #27 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | El Dorado |
| 12 | 212.7 | Granada Hills Charter High School, Team #14 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | Santa Cruz |
| 13 | 212.4 | Mira Loma High School, Team #29 | Arden-Arcade (Sacramento) | El Dorado |
| 14 | 210.8 | Palisades Charter High School, Team #11 | Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 15 | 210.0 | Woodside High School, Team #9 | Woodside (San Mateo) | Santa Cruz |
| 16 | 209.8 | Foresthill High School, Team #11 | Foresthill (Placer) | El Dorado |
| 17 | 209.7 | Adolfo Camarillo High School, Team #1 | Camarillo (Ventura) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 18 | 209.1 | Palisades Charter High School, Team #12 | Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 19 | 207.7 | Grant Union High School, Team #13 | Sacramento (Sacramento) | Shasta |
| 20 | 207.4 | Mariposa High School, Team #17 | Mariposa (Mariposa) | Shasta |
| 21 | 207.2 | Palisades Charter High School, Team #10 | Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 2 |
| 22 | 207.0 | West Campus High School, Team #20 | Sacramento (Sacramento) | Santa Cruz |
| 23 | 206.4 | Charter Oak High School, Team #12 | Covina (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 1 |
| 24 | 206.0 | Benicia High School, Team #4 | Benicia (Solano) | Santa Cruz |
| 25 | 205.3 | El Dorado High School, Team #2 | Placerville (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 26 | 204.3 | Vista Del Lago High School, Team #20 | Folsom (Sacramento) | El Dorado |
| 27 | 204.0 | Granada Hills Charter High School, Team #13 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | Santa Cruz |
| 28 | 203.4 | Mira Loma High School, Team #28 | Arden-Arcade (Sacramento) | El Dorado |
| 29 | 200.9 | John F Kennedy High School, Team #20 | Granada Hills (Los Angeles) | San Bernardino 1 |
| 30 | 200.7 | Grant Union High School, Team #14 | Sacramento (Sacramento) | Shasta |
| 31 | 200.4 | Piedmont High School, Team #9 | Piedmont (Alameda) | El Dorado |
| 32 | 200.3 | Vista Del Lago High School, Team #21 | Folsom (Sacramento) | El Dorado |
| 33 | 199.8 | Cordova High School, Team #10 | Rancho Cordova (Sacramento) | Shasta |
| 34 | 199.7 | Oak Ridge High School, Team #36 | El Dorado Hills (El Dorado) | El Dorado |
| 35 | 199.5 | Oxford Academy High School, Team #23 | Cypress (Orange) | San Bernardino 2 |
Teams that scored 200 points (rounded up) and over have been invited to the 2024-2025 Forestry Challenge Championship, to be held at Camp Sylvester in Tuolumne County in April 2025.
Photos from all events can be found on our Flickr account.