| | Jennifer Martin, 4-H member from Rapides Parish, places her mirror sighting manual compass on top of a stake and looks through the sights to get her bearings to the next stake in the course during a forestry short course training held at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center near Pollock. (Photo by John Chaney) |
| | | LSU AgCenter forestry agent Barry Crain, right, uses a slash pine branch to illustrate how to identify the different pine trees. Specimens of all trees, diseases and insects are available for participants to study at the training. (Photo by John Chaney) |
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LSU AgCenter area forestry agent Barry Crain helps youth develop forestry skills during a special 3-hour training event every year before the state 4-H University competition held on the LSU campus in June.
Like other area forestry agents, Crain trains local youth so they can be formally exposed to all areas of the state contest in forestry. Crain’s training is at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center near Pollock, and 10 to 20 young people participate.
Foresters have worked through the years to develop an outdoor classroom at the center to help prepare contestants for the state forestry competition. They have marked trees and developed a compass course at the site so students can perfect their volume measurements and compass skills. Tree specimens are collected to teach participants skills in tree identification, insect damage and disease problems.
(This article was published in the spring 2006 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.) |