Ten students from Folsom High School recently participated in the 2022 El Dorado Forestry Challenge, one group of a total of 112 high school students from 16 foothill and Central Valley region schools.
The event was Oct. 26 to Oct. 29 at Leoni Meadows Camp in Grizzly Flats.
One of the students’ highlights this year was the opportunity to conduct a seedling inventory and ground cover assessment on the areas at Leoni, which were salvage logged in the wake of the Caldor Fire. Students used the data they collected to devise a plan to establish a new forest. During the Forestry Challenge, teams of students also completed a field test to assess their technical forestry knowledge and data-collecting skills.
“Students had a great time learning surrounded by a variety of forest professionals and got to see firsthand the devastation caused by catastrophic wildfires,” said Folsom High School teacher Mary Johnston.
Adrianna Arriaga, a Folsom High junior, summed it up as follows: “This was a great experience. I had fun and the foresters who helped us were so encouraging and helpful.”
Folsom High School students participated in the Forestry Challenge. Front row, from left, are Mary Johnston (advisor), Isabella Castillo, Paisley Holley, Pavithra Dasu Muralidharan, Alexis Ayala and Zach Kamine (advisor). Back row, from left, are Jack Austin, Evan Azevedo, Adien Sanchez, Sophie Borrilez, Adrianna Arriaga and Aubrey Arriaga. Diane Dealey Photo