More than 200 middle and high school students gathered in Meansville, Ga. recently to demonstrate their forestry chops. The Towalliga FFA Invitational Field Day competition brought together kids from central and north Georgia with forestry professionals from the Georgia Forestry Commission for a day of challenge and fun.

Kelly Daniel, an Agriculture teacher from Banks Co. Middle School, has been helping lead these events for 12 years.

"It's fun!" she said. "Always one of my favorite contests."

I can wholeheartedly attest to the "fun" part. I was one of 10 GFC volunteers who staffed individual contest stations designed to test students' knowledge of various aspects of forestry skills. It was a treat for me to rub elbows with young people who have an interest in our forest resource and the many pleasures of being in the woods!

My station, which I shared with Kelly, was "Ocular Estimation." Without the use of any tools (no Googling!), students had to use their knowledge to calculate trees' ages, heights and diameters, as well as the product category (saw timber, chip n saw, etc.) for which they would be best suited. The other stations students rotated through included Tree Identification, Timber Stand Improvement/Thinning, Land Measurement, Reforestation, Timber Cruising for Cord Volume, Timber Cruising for Board Foot Volume, Tree/Forest Disorders, and Hand Compass Practicum. For this event, students were tested in only one category. Requirements vary for other field day competitions, in which they may visit several stations in a single day.

Even though I've been around the world of forestry and paper-making for a great deal of my career, I realized these young people possess many more skills than me when it comes to sizing up the assets of individual trees. They bent their heads back and stared up the gnarly trunks of pine trees. They held their arms out straight and mentally calculated the trees' dimensions. They touched bark and examined crevices. They made notes on their test sheets and deftly navigated roots and a rugged forest floor, before scampering to the next flagged tree. There was a noticeable lack of conversation; this was an individual exercise and the students took that seriously. For me, it was a real treat be an onlooker and watch the spark of excitement as they recognized their knowledge kicking in, and the happiness of marking down a solid answer.

While the group had been given an hour to complete their tests for this station, most finished in 30-45 minutes. It felt good to see these kids earnestly take on the assignment and watch them demonstrate skills they'd been taught. As a bit of a manners freak, I am happy to report the respectful behavior they displayed, with automatic "yes/no ma'am's" all around. I hope that more than one of them took note of our GFC uniforms and remembers that today's forestry community is cheering them on and ready to lend them a hand.

Kelly told me she expects some of these young people to move on and pursue Ag careers through ABAC and UGA. Others may choose vocational schools or another line of work. It feels safe to say, however, that with a grounding in FFA and the natural resources field, most are prepared for a wholesome and satisfying career experience. As my colleague Troy Clymer, Chief of GFC Forest Management, put it: "We appreciate everyone's commitment to help aid in these events. We never know the full impact we have on the next generation!"

Article By: Stasia Kelly, Media Relations Specialist