4-H Forestry Field Days – Educational Forestry Events for Junior and Senior 4-Hers

By: Laurie T. Thomas and Ashley Osborne

U.K. Forestry and Natural Resources Extension and 4-H State Office

Four, day-long field days for 4-H youth across the state were conducted to educate youth about forestry, skills related to forestry and careers in forestry and natural resources. The Forestry Field Day events were held at Carter Caves State Resort Park, Mammoth Cave National Park and Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and we designed for Junior and Senior 4-Hers. The 4-H Senior Forestry Field Day State Competition was held at Bernheim State Arboretum. The events were organized and taught by UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension with the assistance of the Kentucky Division of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and National Parks Service.

At each of the field day events for the Junior and Senior 4-Hers the youth had the opportunity to learn about Kentucky’s trees and forests as well as some of the skills that real-life foresters utilize everyday while on the job. The youth were taught and tested on tree identification, tree measurement and compass and pacing. In 2018, 347 youth from more than 25 different counties participated in the events.

The 4-H Senior Forestry Field Day Competition provided senior 4-Hers the opportunity to learn about Kentucky’s trees, tree measurement, compass and pacing, map reading, forest health and forest insects. The teams were tested on tree identification, tree measurement, map reading, forest health identification and forest insect identification. In 2018, six counties participated in the competition with 44 seniors. The winning county team which was Nelson County went on to represent Kentucky at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational in West Virginia. Nelson County finished 7^th overall our 17 teams at the National event.