Worley student earns top writing honors
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
Natural Connections Academy student Jakob Karels beams as he showcases his winnings for earning first place in the fifth grade division in the Idaho Forest Products Commission's annual Forest Products Week Essay Contest. He received a certificate and cash award as well as $100 for his classroom.
Courtesy photo
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | December 30, 2022 1:05 AM
A Kootenai County student has earned top honors for his entry in the Idaho Forest Products Commission's annual Forest Products Week Essay Contest.
The commission announced Tuesday that Jakob Karels, a student at Natural Connections Academy in Worley, is the first-place writer for the fifth grade division. Jakob wrote an essay praising Idaho trees and how they provide clean air, wood and paper products for people to enjoy. He wrote how cool it is that trees "slowly absorb and release particles of air." He discussed how trees and their tree friends use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and how they also help with processes of the water cycle.
"I love trees because they are always doing stuff for us," he wrote.
Jakob is among six Idaho students who received certificates and cash awards, plus $100 for their classrooms.
For the contest, elementary students wrote essays expressing their appreciation for trees and forests while secondary students considered the challenges facing forests, such as climate change and wildfires, and offered recommendations for future forest management.
“We enjoyed reading about students’ personal connections to trees and their views on sustainable management of this renewable resource,” Idaho Forest Products Commission Education program manager Michelle Youngquist said in the announcement.
The Idaho Forest Products Commission provides information and education programs about Idaho’s forests and the forest products sector, including contests and classroom resources for teachers.
Visit www.idahoforests.org for details.
Three other North Idaho students earned honorable mentions. The Press will share their names once received from their schools.
Read the winning essays: idahoforests.org/essaycontest
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