L to R: Carson Meeks – Coach, Gabe Harville, Owen Meeks, Easton Bibbings, and Rachel Petty – 4-H Agent. (Not Pictured: Emmy Bibbings)
Four of our Senior High 4-H’ers spent June 5th & 6th at the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area in Crossville, Tennessee, as they participated in the 2024 State 4-H Wildlife Judging Contest.
Smith County was represented by Easton Bibbings, Emmy Bibbings, Gabe Harville, and Owen Meeks. They faced some tough competition from Knox, Shelby, Grundy, and Carter counties.
Our team, which the students nicknamed “Quail Candy”, came away with a big 2nd place win in the statewide competition. We are so proud of them!
In addition to Smith County’s 2nd place team win, Gabe Harville placed 3rd overall and Easton Bibbings placed 2nd.
These 4-H’ers qualified to compete at the state level by placing 1st at the Central Region Wildlife Judging Contest held in Murfreesboro in May.
The State Wildlife Judging Contest festivities kicked off with an Education Day on Wednesday afternoon, where students got to explore different areas throughout the Catoosa WMA and learn from experts and TWRA staff about the management practices being implemented there.
At the contest on Thursday, 4-H’ers had to individually be able to identify birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish common in our area and also know about their food and habitat needs for the Wildlife Challenge section of the competition. Then, they worked together as a team to create a management plan to improve a specific area for wildlife habitat based on a given scenario. Additionally, 4-H’ers had to defend their Wildlife Management Plan with a set of oral reasons given to an expert in the field.
Special thanks to Dr. Craig Harper, Chris Graves, and Daniel Sarver from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture as well as the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency staff who made this event possible!
Thanks also to 4-H Alumni and volunteers Carson Meeks and Spencer Meeks for coaching our crew and getting them ready for the contest.
With this 4-H Wildlife Judging contest behind them, Easton, Emmy, Gabe, and Owen are now gearing up for a road trip to Weston, West Virginia, next month as they compete in the National 4-H Forestry Invitational! They never fail to represent themselves and Smith County exceptionally well!
For more information about the many activities available to our local young people through the 4-H program, please call 615-735-2900 or email rpetty@utk.edu.
