WILBERFORCE – The Versailles FFA competed at the State Environmental and Natural Resources competition on April 12 at Central State University.
This was the second time the Versailles FFA has taken a team to compete at this state competition. This CDE consists of the top five teams in the state from the soils, forestry, nature interpretation and wildlife management CDE competitions. In order to qualify for this CDE, the team had to place within the top five teams in the state at the wildlife competition and Versailles placed third.
The contest consists of an individual online exam and an oral presentation presented as a team. The presentation was based upon questions about soils, water, ecosystems, waste management and environmental concerns and issues. After the presentation, the team competed in four practicums including water analysis, soil analysis, GPS locations and environmental analysis. The practicums included measuring water samples, describing effects of environmental pollutants, determining soil texture, identifying longitude and latitude of a location and understanding the ecological succession.
The Versailles FFA members who participated included Alex Kaiser, Caleb Kaiser, Jayden Groff and Evan Keller, who all were a part of the Wildlife team. The team placed third overall in the state, earning their third banner for the year.
Darke County Soil and Water allowed Versailles FFA to borrow equipment used at the contest and allowed its employee Tim Rank to help train the team with the soil practicum. John Kaiser helped coach the team in GPS and other practicum areas as well as Milan Pozderac.
