After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, members of the University of Georgia’s Forestry Club finally got a chance to test their skills at this year’s Forestry Conclave. Hosted this year by the University of Tennessee, the event includes a combination of classroom-style quizzes on topics such as dendrology and wood ID, then kicked things up a notch with physical competitions that harken back to older days of forestry. While the technical events didn’t cause the team from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources too much stress, events such as axe throwing, pole felling and log birling were a different story. Because the team hadn’t had much opportunity to practice—and only four members were able to attend—they had to be resourceful. “For some of the sawing and physical events like that, they had a practice area set up and some events had a practice round.” Said Mason Adams, a third-year forestry major at Warnell and president of the school’s Forestry Club. “We’d have a little bit of time to go to the practice area, but a lot of times the actual practice round for the event was when we were learning.” In other words, it was a busy weekend for Warnell’s four-member team. The ASFC Conclave, now in its 63rd year, is a competition among 15 forestry schools across the Southeast. Students face off in a range of events that test their forestry skills, which include technical knowledge and physical events. Before COVID, the annual tradition also gave students a chance to meet with other forestry majors, camp out and just embrace the atmosphere of the event. When this year’s conclave was announced, the Warnell Forestry club members knew they wanted to attend—but didn’t know how to start practicing. Even recruiting students to go to the event was a tough sell, as Adams and other students hadn’t been themselves and couldn’t even describe the experience. Once they fielded their small but mighty team, they arrived at the University of Tennessee not exactly sure what to expect. So, they did what any good student would do in that situation: They winged it. “We had a team of four and they had rounds, so each of us would pick an event,” said Adams. “We’d do it, and then the next round would come, and we’d end one and start practicing to do the next one, back-to-back.” The team members decided to compete in as many events as possible. Over the course of the two-day event, teams rack up points based on how they place in individual events. Most teams were larger, with some members that had practiced for months on just one skill. While that might sound intimidating to someone walking up to, say, axe throwing for the first time, UGA’s team members’ willingness to just go for it won them a lot of respect among the other competitors. That mutual respect and camaraderie was part of what made the event so enjoyable, said Adams. “Several schools brought 20 students or more, and some were super specialized in one event. They’d been practicing for that event for the past couple weeks, and they saw us come in with a four-person team and were like, ‘Whoa, you all competed in all this stuff?’ There was a lot of mutual respect,” said Adams. By the end of the competition, teams were good-naturedly rooting for each other. “When we got up to do an event, there were people we’d met throughout the weekend who would come up and cheer us on,” added Adams. “Everyone was cheering each other on to do better. They were all just real good sports about everything.” By the end of the weekend, UGA was solidly in the middle of the pack—not too shabby for a green 4-member team. Forestry student Jackson Osteen placed third in axe throwing (and also braved the chilling water and howling wind in the log birling event). Another forestry student, William Skinner, won third place in pole classification. Agriculture business major Taylor Turoski nabbed first place in the pole felling event, and Adams won first place in timber estimation. Adams plans to graduate in December and knew he wanted to experience a conclave before leaving UGA. Now, his goal is to expand the team and plan a practice conclave with nearby schools. Anyone across UGA can take part, and Adams said he also wants to get more women involved in the competition. Not only are there specific events for women, but it also helps add to the overall event when you can show up with a robust team of diverse talents. It’s also an opportunity he wants to extend to more students. Not only was the event fun, he said, but the connections he and the other club members made among the other students was something that will carry with them beyond graduation. Years from now, it’s likely that he’ll be competing for jobs or working alongside other students from the competition. “It was super cool just talking with everybody about how our classes compared to what we were doing there,” he said. “It was a really cool experience.” Want to be a part of the competition next year? All UGA students are welcome to take part. Email Mason Adams for details and a practice schedule.
While the technical events didn’t cause the team from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources too much stress, events such as axe throwing, pole felling and log birling were a different story. Because the team hadn’t had much opportunity to practice—and only four members were able to attend—they had to be resourceful. “For some of the sawing and physical events like that, they had a practice area set up and some events had a practice round.” Said Mason Adams, a third-year forestry major at Warnell and president of the school’s Forestry Club. “We’d have a little bit of time to go to the practice area, but a lot of times the actual practice round for the event was when we were learning.” In other words, it was a busy weekend for Warnell’s four-member team. The ASFC Conclave, now in its 63rd year, is a competition among 15 forestry schools across the Southeast. Students face off in a range of events that test their forestry skills, which include technical knowledge and physical events. Before COVID, the annual tradition also gave students a chance to meet with other forestry majors, camp out and just embrace the atmosphere of the event. When this year’s conclave was announced, the Warnell Forestry club members knew they wanted to attend—but didn’t know how to start practicing. Even recruiting students to go to the event was a tough sell, as Adams and other students hadn’t been themselves and couldn’t even describe the experience. Once they fielded their small but mighty team, they arrived at the University of Tennessee not exactly sure what to expect. So, they did what any good student would do in that situation: They winged it. “We had a team of four and they had rounds, so each of us would pick an event,” said Adams. “We’d do it, and then the next round would come, and we’d end one and start practicing to do the next one, back-to-back.” The team members decided to compete in as many events as possible. Over the course of the two-day event, teams rack up points based on how they place in individual events. Most teams were larger, with some members that had practiced for months on just one skill. While that might sound intimidating to someone walking up to, say, axe throwing for the first time, UGA’s team members’ willingness to just go for it won them a lot of respect among the other competitors. That mutual respect and camaraderie was part of what made the event so enjoyable, said Adams. “Several schools brought 20 students or more, and some were super specialized in one event. They’d been practicing for that event for the past couple weeks, and they saw us come in with a four-person team and were like, ‘Whoa, you all competed in all this stuff?’ There was a lot of mutual respect,” said Adams. By the end of the competition, teams were good-naturedly rooting for each other. “When we got up to do an event, there were people we’d met throughout the weekend who would come up and cheer us on,” added Adams. “Everyone was cheering each other on to do better. They were all just real good sports about everything.” By the end of the weekend, UGA was solidly in the middle of the pack—not too shabby for a green 4-member team. Forestry student Jackson Osteen placed third in axe throwing (and also braved the chilling water and howling wind in the log birling event). Another forestry student, William Skinner, won third place in pole classification. Agriculture business major Taylor Turoski nabbed first place in the pole felling event, and Adams won first place in timber estimation. Adams plans to graduate in December and knew he wanted to experience a conclave before leaving UGA. Now, his goal is to expand the team and plan a practice conclave with nearby schools. Anyone across UGA can take part, and Adams said he also wants to get more women involved in the competition. Not only are there specific events for women, but it also helps add to the overall event when you can show up with a robust team of diverse talents. It’s also an opportunity he wants to extend to more students. Not only was the event fun, he said, but the connections he and the other club members made among the other students was something that will carry with them beyond graduation. Years from now, it’s likely that he’ll be competing for jobs or working alongside other students from the competition. “It was super cool just talking with everybody about how our classes compared to what we were doing there,” he said. “It was a really cool experience.” Want to be a part of the competition next year? All UGA students are welcome to take part. Email Mason Adams for details and a practice schedule.
