North Carolina was one of 17 state teams that competed in the 37th annual National 4-H Forestry Invitational from Sunday, July 31, through Thursday, August 4. Teams from Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida placed first, second, and third respectively. Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin were also represented at this year’s Invitational. North Carolina placed 7th, with team captain, Lily Knepp, also taking 7th place overall individual.
The invitational was held at West Virginia University Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, West Virginia. The event is sponsored by Farm Credit System, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc., USDA Forest Service State and Private Southern Region, West Virginia University Extension Service, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Forest Foundation, Southern Regional Extension Forestry, Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals, and National Woodland Owners Association. In North Carolina, the 4-H Forestry program is supported by NCSU Extension Forestry and numerous 4-H agents and volunteer leaders that coach their teams.
While at the Invitational 4-H members competed for overall team and individual awards in several categories. Events included tree identification, tree measurement, compass and pacing, insect and disease identification, topographic map use, forest evaluation, the forestry bowl and a written forestry exam.
North Carolina was represented by Spencer Cook from Kernersville, Jadyn Hooker from Walkerton, and Alex Arrowood from Lexington, and Team Captain Lily Knepp from Pilot Mountain. The team was coached by Carla Arrowood, also from Lexington.
4-H is a youth education program operated by the Cooperative Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the state land grant universities. More than six million youth, 540,000 volunteers, and 3,500 professionals participate in 4-H nationwide, and nearly 100,000 are part of the 4-H Forestry Program.
The event would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors: Farm Credit System (FCS), The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®), Inc, USDA Forest Service, West Virginia University (WVU) Extension Service, American Farm Bureau Federation, (AFBF), The American Forest Foundation® (AFF), Southern Region Extension Forestry, The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP), and The National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA).
For more information on the National 4-H Forestry Invitational, go to: http://4hforestryinvitational.org/. Information about the North Carolina 4-H Forestry program can be found at https://forestry.ces.ncsu.edu/4h/.