High School FFA Contestants Prepare for Nationals at Earth Science Center

Students from Oley Valley, Athens Area and Wellsboro Area high schools – along with four FFA advisers – spent Tuesday at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center to get ready for competitions this fall in Massachusetts and Kentucky. Cliff Day, FFA facilitator for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, also participated as Penn College faculty and staff prepped the students. “These are some of the brightest high school students in the state in terms of their forestry knowledge, and it’s nice to be able to help polish their skills to prepare them for their national competition," said horticulture instructor Carl J. Bower Jr., who also provided photos. Students worked with Bower, forestry instructor Eric C. Easton and forest technology laboratory assistant Erich R. Doebler to learn about topics such as tree disorders, compass use, wood products, tree measurements and identification, and timber-stand improvements to better prepare them for their contests.