Students from around the East Texas area participated in the Upper Neches Woodland Clinic on Thursday, April 2, 2015, at the Attoyac Farm near Etoile, Texas.
Winners for the clinic are Hayden Flint, Huntington 4H, First Place; Travis Carrell, Huntington 4H, Second Place; and Ellie Bollen, Central FFA, Third Place.
TFA also awarded scholarships to the high point Senior and Junior at the Woodland Clinic. Carrell received $2,000 as the high point senior, and Cy Kelsey, Central FFA, received $1,500 as the high point junior.
“The young people who compete in these competitions have the opportunity to continue learning to care for and understand an important part of our ecology in East Texas,” said Ron Hufford, executive director of TFA.” We are proud to be part of the future of Texas forestry and to keep that tradition alive through these scholarships.”
The competition is set up by the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and is comprised of several events that include tree identification, tree measurement, thinning, wood products and compass and pacing. Students advanced to the Upper Neches Woodland Clinic after winning in their local Woodland Clinics, which are supported by volunteers from the Soil and Water Conservation districts, who also provided additional support for this competition and at the State Woodland Clinic.
Also volunteering for the clinic were members of the Texas A&M Forest Service and the U. S. Forest Service.
The three highest scoring teams will continue on to compete at the State Woodland Clinic held at the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest near Nacogdoches on Wednesday, April 22, 2015.
