Four members of the East Knox FFA recently competed in the state finals of the FFA Nursery/Landscape Career Development Event on March 26 at Delaware Area Career Center in Delaware.
The team consisting of senior Jesse Wolford, juniors Aiden Kapper and Quentin White, and freshman Ava Page finished second in the state event after the day of hands-on competition. They will now represent Ohio in the Eastern States Exposition (Big E) competition in September in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
In the event, competitors had to complete a surveying exercise, calculate a landscape installation estimate, assemble and position plants in a layout practicum, operate skid-steer loaders through a course, complete a paver installation exercise, and do a grading and drainage practicum. Individually, Wolford finished sixth, Kapper placed seventh, White was 12th, and Page finished 13th out of 294 competitors. The first and second-place students in each of the hands-on event finals were also recognized, with Page and Wolford placing first in the residential landscape estimating with a score of 89.45 out of 100.
To qualify for the finals, the team completed two online phases of the competition on Jan. 16 and Feb. 6, where they took a written test, identified specimens, and completed practicums. Participants had to identify 80 specimens of deciduous trees and shrubs, needled evergreens, broad-leaved evergreens, annuals, perennials and groundcovers with both common and scientific names. They also had to identify 40 specimens of weeds, insects and diseases, equipment and supplies, and turf found in the nursery and landscape business. In addition, contestants complete a landscape drawing practicum, interpret a pesticide label, and complete a material safety data sheet (MSD) practicum. From this part of the competition, the top 10 teams advanced to the finals.
The nursery/landscape event is an educational activity designed as a practical method of teaching students to perform hands-on skills and to identify various horticultural plants, weeds, insects and diseases that affect the nursery and landscape business. The team will receive a banner for placing second in the state at the Ohio FFA Convention on May 2-3 at the Ohio Expo Center. The top 10 individuals also receive a plaque for their efforts. The contest awards are sponsored by the Ohio Green Industry Association (OGIA). This is the 25th year that an East Knox FFA Nursery/Landscape CDE Team has placed in the top 10 in the state. They have won the event eight times, including five out of the past seven years.
