Minarets students place in forestry contest

Four students from Minarets High School participated recently in the 2019 Santa Cruz Forestry Challenge, one group of a total of 84 high school students from 12 schools from the coastal and Central Valley regions.

The event was Oct. 9 to 12 at Redwood Glen in Loma Mar.

Minarets took second place out of 21 teams with a score of 200 out of a possible 250, earning them a spot at state championships in the spring.

According to Diane Dealey Neill, founder and coordinator of Forestry Challenge, one of the highlights for the students this year was the opportunity to collect data on a 20-acre forested unit in the northeast portion of Redwood Glen to establish baseline statistics on the stand and assess its growth potential.

Students will be weighing in on whether it would make sense to manage the property under a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP). During the Challenge, the teams of students also completed field training, followed by a field test, to assess their technical forestry knowledge.

“The Forestry Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn skills used by foresters,” said Minarets High School teacher Richard Chapman.

Joseph Langley, a senior at Minarets High School, said: “My time here far exceeded my expectations. I never thought I’d be here, but I’m so, so glad I was.”