Thomas Stroud, Levi West, William Warwick, and Lucas Partin will represent Monroe County and Tennessee at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational. The team won first place at the Tennessee 4-H Forestry State Competition at the UT Arboretum on Oct. 10.

Ella Stanford of Henderson County placed Top Individual based on her score across all categories. The competition included Tree Identification, Insect Identification, Disease Identification, Wood Identification, Compass and Pacing, Tree Measurements, and Forest Evaluation based on a forest landowner scenario.

“It is so impressive to see young people across our great state who care about natural resources and possess such a tree-mendous amount of knowledge,” Chris Graves, forestry and wildlife management Extension specialist, says. “It was fantastic to see these high school students show up and participate.”

Graves also thanked the family members, Extension staff, coaches and volunteers who invest in the “exceptional” young people. He also expressed his gratitude to Dr. Kevin Hoyt and the staff at the UT Arboretum for hosting the competition.

Contact your county Extension office for more information about 4-H programs. Forestry begins at the fourth grade level.