Four members of the East Knox FFA competed on May 9 in the State Environmental/Natural Resources Career Development Event hosted at the Conservation Area of the Ohio Farm Science Review grounds in Madison County, where they placed fourth out of a field of teams from across Ohio. Team members were Aiden Kapper, Andy Rettig, Mackenzie Wilson, and Jesse Wolford. The teams that participated qualified through two rounds of preliminary events.
The contest consists of three phases. In the first phase, the students took an exam on the environment and natural resources, identified specimens, and completed a data analysis practicum. In the second category, students gave a group presentation and the final phase consisted of conducting fieldwork.
The students presented a PowerPoint on “Climate-smart Agricultural Practices,” which deals with the impact of shifting weather patterns, and increasingly frequent and severe storms, floods, drought, and wildfires that impact their operations. They filmed an eight-minute presentation and uploaded it to a group of judges.
In the fieldwork portion, participants completed a water analysis consisting of dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature tests; identified macroinvertebrates; performed a soil analysis, where they used a builders level to determine elevation and slope; determined soil type, runoff curve, and area of a watershed; determined highly erodible land; completed a waste management practicum; located points using GPS units; and performed an environmental analysis on a site.
The scores from the three phases of the event were added together to get the final state placings.
The Environmental/Natural Resources Career Development Event is an educational activity designed to assess a student’s knowledge of environmental management and to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies in natural resources.
East Knox FFA has placed in the top five in the state in the Environmental/Natural Resources CDE every year except two since the contest started in 2007, when they won the initial event. They have finished second four out of the past seven years and won the event again in 2021. They will receive a banner for this year's fourth-place finish.
