Arkansas 4-H forestry team wins first place at National 4-H Forestry Invitational

WESTON, W.Va. — The Arkansas competitor who wound up with the highest individual score at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational said she knew little about forestry when she was invited to join what would become the national-title-winning Montgomery County team.
The team, composed of Serena Grey, Nathaniel Huitt, Eli McDowell and Ariel Murphy, competed against 11 other states and won the national invitational, which was held July 20-24 at Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Conference Center in Weston, West Virginia.
The champion team was coached by Ty Huitt, father of Nathaniel. The team advanced to the nationals after winning the state forestry contest in May.
At the invitational, 4-H members competed for both overall team and individual awards in several events, including tree identification, tree measurement, insect and disease identification and forest evaluation. Contestants also competed in compass and pacing, where they used a compass to locate a specific point, and took a written forestry exam.
‘A complete shock’
Grey, a newcomer to forestry, had the highest overall individual score in the contest, earning 442 points out of a possible 500.
“Learning that I placed highest overall was a complete shock to me,” Grey, 15, said. “I wasn’t expecting to do well at all, since this was my first forestry contest. About two months before the national invitational, one of my friends texted me and asked if I would be willing to fill in as the fourth member of the team.
“I was originally unsure, because I knew close to nothing about trees,” Grey said. “I began practicing with the team every week and learning how to compass, pace and timber measure. Another thing that helped me learn was getting out with my team members and coach and just walking in the woods, studying the trees.”
“I was not expecting us to win,” said Ty Huitt. “I thought we’d be competitive, but they really impressed me. I told them, ‘If you want to win, you have to put in the time to practice and study,’ and they flat out did it.”
As part of the forest evaluation event, Huitt said the team had to set up in an area of the forest and “essentially function as a forester” and give recommendations to a fictitious landowner in a scenario they were given.
“They had to work together to make choices and solve problems for that landowner, and it was cool to see them do well and work those things out,” Huitt said. “They taught one another, even during our practices while we were getting ready for it. They would each learn and teach the others.”
Jaret Rushing, extension forestry instructor for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and coordinator of the state 4-H forestry contest, said the forestry program gives 4-H members “an enhanced sense that forestry goes further than just trees.”
“Arkansas is in the top five of timber producing states in the nation,” Rushing said. “Therefore, I think it’s important to promote outdoor education and forestry education, so people understand that we are an agricultural commodity.”
Passing down a passion
Huitt said the team first began working together and practicing for the competition in May, though his son Nathaniel and McDowell had older siblings who previously competed in forestry competitions through FFA.
“I’ve been dragging those two through the woods since they were in sixth grade,” Huitt said.
Huitt said he grew up in Hermitage, Arkansas, and was on his high school’s FFA forestry team, which won the state forestry contest in 1995. He later became a pastor and moved with his family to Mt. Ida in 2009. To introduce his love for forestry to a new generation, Huitt soon began coaching his daughter and youth from his community in the FFA forestry program.

Due to scheduling conflicts for team members, Huitt and the team made the switch to Arkansas 4-H’s forestry program this year so they could continue competing in the subject.
McDowell, 17, said he enjoys forestry because it’s a “good excuse to outside and venture through the woods.”
“I enjoy the way it makes me use my critical thinking and reasoning skills,” he said. “It’s an experience that is too fun to pass up. Thanks to 4-H, I have made some incredible memories this summer.”
Murphy, 16, said forestry appeals to her because “I really like a challenge.”
“It’s more fun to not be able to know all of the trees, and it’s very difficult to identify all of them accurately, along with everything else that goes into this, like compass and pacing,” Murphy said. “I would say the mystery of it is very appealing to me.”
Nathaniel Huitt, 16, said the program provides him with “a lot of learning that school just can’t really offer.”
Rushing said forestry education equips youth with skills that will benefit them “in all other areas of agriculture.”
“Whenever you start talking about forestry education, that includes water and air quality among other environmental concerns,” Rushing said. “Whenever we start talking about forest management, it also encompasses a wildlife component and pest and disease prevention that can adapt into similar concerns for livestock, forages, agronomy or horticulture.
“By learning each and every aspect of the forestry competition area, and excelling in those events, you become more well-rounded in the entire agriculture field, rather than just one discipline,” Rushing said.
A well-earned win
Murphy said her team’s first place win “didn’t really hit me until the next day.”
“It was the most proud and exciting moment,” she said. “That we had done all of that hard work, practicing one, two, three times a week, and it had really paid off. If we were not out in the woods practicing with our coach, then we were at home studying anything that we could.”
“I was really happy,” Nathaniel Huitt said of the win. “I’m not usually a really emotional person, but I couldn’t stop smiling for five minutes.”
“I kind of felt on top of the world,” McDowell said. “Everyone was yelling and cheering for us, which was something I didn’t really expect and was a nice surprise.”
“Forestry is a growing industry, and it is so important in everything that we do,” Grey said. “I would encourage more 4-H’ers to join it. This contest was an amazing opportunity for me, and I discovered a new interest that I would never have previously tried.”
Rushing said he was not surprised that the Montgomery team took the top spot at the Invitational.
“This particular group of kids were very inquisitive and very attentive when we discussed aspects of the national contest,” Rushing said. “The fact that they went and represented Arkansas as well as they did may have been a surprise to themselves, but I knew they had it in them.”