SHINGLETOWN, Calif. — Five students from Middletown High School participated recently in the 2023 Shasta Forestry Challenge, one group of a total of 95 high school students from 15 schools from northern and central California.

The event took place Sept. 27 to 30 at Mountain Meadows Camp, east of Shingletown, California.

One of the highlights for the students this year was the opportunity to evaluate fuel reduction treatments at Noble Demonstration State Forest.

Students will collect data and determine if the treated areas are compliant with state standards for shaded fuel breaks.

During the challenge, teams of students also completed a field test to assess their technical forestry knowledge and data collecting skills.

Alyssa Judson, a sophomore at Middletown High School summed it up as follows: “It’s a good program to see what forestry is really about. They show you the science behind it and the meaning of what a forester does.”