On June 13, four youth from Fayette County represented us
well at the State 4-H Wildlife Contest.
The contest was held at Natchez Trace State Park, and was open only to
the twelve best teams in the state. The
kids arrived the day before and participated in an educational tour that
focused on forest management practices.
They got to stay the night with other 4-H youth in the cabins at the
park before starting the contest the next day.
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| Marah Williams,Madison Morris, Jacob Baker, and Hunter Winstead |
The contest itself is
a full day with five different activities to participate in. The first activity is wildlife
identification. The kids have to
correctly identify mammals, birds, and fish from feathers, pelts, tracks, and
even bird calls! The next activity is a
written multiple choice test on the environmental conditions of the Eastern
Deciduous Forest, the habitat needs of the animals in our region, and various
wildlife management terms and practices.
Then, they go outside to a plot of land and are given a series of
animals to manage for. The youth have to
know which practices to recommend for a certain species given specific habitat
conditions. The last two events have the
team working together to write out a management plan for three species at the
outdoor location. Then, they have to go
before a judge individually and give an oral defense of their management
plan. The evening ends with a
recognition banquet for all the teams and certificates and awards are given
out. Our Fayette County 4-Hers prepared for weeks for this contest. They placed eighth in the state, moving up
four spots since our last trip to the state contest two years ago! If you would like more information on the 4-H
wildlife program, or any of the other opportunities in 4-H, call
901-465-5233.
