LHS Freshman Class up to the challenge San Bernardino Forestry Challenge

Hume SoCal Camp at Green Valley Lake – Littlerock High School teacher Mrs. Robin Olsen, whose duties and responsibilities include Sustainable Ag Pathway, National Agriscience Ambassador and FFA Advisor Department Chair, and eight of her Freshman Forestry Class were part of the hugely successful Forest Challenge, 2021. The challenge was held at Green Valley Lake Camp for the sixth year. The dining hall, dorms, and meeting rooms were constructed by camp staff with traditional whole-log construction. Each year students enjoy the zip line/ropes course and take a night hike to a vista point to stargaze and look at the city lights below.

Although the group was brand new to the forestry challenge scene, they were still up for the challenge. They decided they probably could not win the whole contest this year, but they could win the Spacing Contest, and so they did!

Pacing is a method used to measure a distance and is often used with a sighting or hand compass. Most commonly, pacing is split up into segments, such as chains, which are set measures of distance. By determining your own pace, distance can be estimated. A common use for pacing in forestry is to pace off 66 feet from a tree in order to get a measurement of tree height. It is common practice in forestry.

The group decided, “We are going to do the best we can on the ‘book smart’ stuff and prescription portion. We are going to do this again in years 2, 3 and 4.” The group is looking forward to and getting ready for next year.

Team members were 4 per team, 2 teams from Littlerock High School. Francis Lerma, Miguel Rivera, Melissa Moreno-Franco, Nathan Sandoval, Alejandro Cortez, Roshily Chavez, Dezeray Marquez and Osvaldo Medina comprised the 8 students in the two teams.

Mrs. Olsen noted her students used their experience for their scientific methods practice in their biology class. Littlerock High School won the Pacing Contest with a pace of 65 feet, 6 inches.

CAL FIRE operates eight Demonstration State Forests totaling 71,000 acres. The forests represent the most common forest types in the state. The State Forests grow approximately 75 million board feet yearly and harvest an average of 30 million board feet of timber each year, enough to build 3,000 single-family homes. Revenue from these harvests fund a variety of the Department's Resource Management Programs. In addition, the forests provide research and demonstration projects on forest management, while providing public recreation opportunities, fish and wildlife habitat, and watershed protection.

The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) policy provides that the State Forests shall be used for experimentation to determine the economic feasibility of artificial reforestation, and to demonstrate the productive and economic possibilities of good forest practices toward maintaining forest crop land in a productive condition. The management objectives and plans developed for each State Forest are subject to periodic review and approval by the Board.

The final event of the 2021 Forestry Challenge season with the 64 students from 10 schools who participated braved the wind and cold to perform well on the field test and collect some great data at Camp Hinckley near Running Springs. Camp Hinckley’s forested area has not been actively managed since 2007 when the Slide Fire burned through the property at a high intensity. Teams evaluated the 21.5-acre parcel to recommend a path forward that combines fuel treatment and reforestation with the goal of protecting the camp from severe damage if and when there is another wildfire.

In 2019, LHS Junior Julianna Osornio said “This is an amazing opportunity for our students to work out real scientific problems, with the assistance of forest professionals. Our generation needs to learn how to become better stewards of our forests.”

By Shirley Harriman