WHS students advance to FFA Agriscience National Fair

Wahkiakum High School students Jessica Asmus, Amanda Collier and Brittney Robbins have qualified for the National FFA Agriscience Fair to be held next October 22-25 at the 81st National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

They qualified for Nationals by winning 1st place in the Environmental Science Division at the Washington State FFA Agriscience Fair at the Puyallup Fairgrounds this past month.

Their project titled, “Operation Restoration,” began this past summer as part of the Columbia Estuary Environmental Education Program (CEEEP) sponsored by the Wahkiakum Community Foundation. The students were part of an eight-member team that began work on the Birnie Creek watershed with the goal of improving salmon habitat by eradicating the noxious weed, Japanese Knotweed. Sarah Doumit joined the team during the school year assisting them as a fellow member of their Environmental Science class.

The students consulted with Chemist Ron Crocket from Monsanto Agriculture Company and Rob Stockhouse, Pacific University Professor, as they developed an experimental design for the project. The focus of their research was to test the effectiveness of a new herbicide application instrument, the JK Injection Gun that was developed to increase safety and efficiency for introducing herbicides into plants located near aquatic ecosystems. The team has collected and analyzed data throughout the 2007-2008 school year to determine the effectiveness of their experiment - early results are promising.

This past month, the team completed a landscape design and led Wahkiakum High School students in planting over 600 native trees and shrubs along the stream bank in an effort to improve habitat for Coho salmon and other wildlife.

The FFA Agriscience program allows students to participate in research projects in their local communities and then prepare a scientific report and presentation for judging at the national level. Competition is divided into five categories: Botany, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Zoology, and Biochemistry/Microbiology. This program recognizes outstanding high school students who are studying the application of scientific principles and new technologies in the agricultural industry. It also provides scholarships to FFA members planning to pursue a college degree in Agriscience while helping to provide a reliable supply of Agriscience graduates to meet the private and public agribusiness sectors.

The National FFA convention brings more than 50,000 FFA members, advisors and supporters from across the country to be inspired and motivated during four days of speakers, award presentations and workshops.

"These girls have done an outstanding job in improving the wildlife habitat on Birnie Creek. They have put in long hours on the project and have shown a lot of pride in their work - we are proud them! We are confident they will represent our community and school well at the national competition in Indianapolis," said Jeff Rooklidge, the girls' Environmental Science teacher.