WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A Tennessee team, whose members didn’t know the difference between a hickory and a maple when they started out, took first place in the “World Series” of 4-H Forestry – the National Forestry Invitational – in July.

Fourteen state teams competed, with those from New York and Alabama placing second and third, respectively. The teams won regional and state competitions to be eligible, said David Jackson, forest resources educator and chair of the invitational.

At regional and state levels teams are judged on knowledge of local trees, forestry, insects and diseases. At the national invitational, participants have to learn on the same topics – but about species nationwide.

“A lot of the invitational is done outside,” Jackson said. “We tout it as a way to get kids outdoors.”

Tennessee team members were Emily and Julia Palacios and Rebekah Meese. Laura Palacios, Emily’s and Julia’s mom, was their coach. Julia also won the high-point individual award.

The three students approached Laura Palacios and told her they wanted to learn the native trees of Tennessee. The local 4-H extension office didn’t have such a program but told her she could start one. The three students asked some of their friends if they were interested (a typical forestry team has four members), but there were no takers.

“We started out with a team of three, and we’ve grown to 14 now,” Palacios said. “I guess because of our success at state, and they realized this was something that was interesting and fun. We took field trips, we visited sawmills, we had so much fun that we had students coming to us wanting to join.”

Starting out, the team was not even aware of the national competition, Palacios said. During the regional and state competitions, they became good friends with the Shelby County team from West Tennessee, which had won the national competition in 2012.

“Their volunteer leader and her team reached out to us and showed us what was involved and what we needed to know,” Palacios said. “Our kids all became great friends.”

The regional and state competitions were in September and October 2014. Then there was a long break and a lot of new information to learn.

“We were concerned going in with a first year, three-person team,” Palacios said. “We were shocked when we won. But on the flip side, all three of the girls developed a passion for forestry and ecology. It became something they studied in their free time.”

The Invitational, held from a Sunday through Thursday at West Virginia University’s Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center, was “a blast,” Palacios said. Meeting and making friends of team members from all over the country was a highlight. There were great activities, too: log-rolling, cross-cut sawing and other fun, educational events.

However, winning the team and individual events was the pinnacle, said Julia. Her interest in trees was sparked when her mom helped her press leaves when she was younger. She is in 10th grade, slated to graduate a year early.

“I was honored by (winning),” she said. “Some people asked how we learned so much in such a short amount of time. I didn’t know how much I needed to know about trees, so I learned as much as I could.”

Other teams at the Invitational were from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.4hforestryinvitational.org