Saint Anthony Junior Senior High School

WAILUKU We stand on it, build homes on it, even grow food in it. But who gives much thought to dirt?

It turns out that some high school students do. And this year a keen interest in the characteristics of soil and the best uses of land has carried the St. Anthony Junior Senior High School Dirt Club to county and statewide championships in the Conservation Awareness Contest.

The contest is an annual land judging competition sponsored by the Hawaii Association of Conservation Districts and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of each island.

As state winners, the Trojans have earned an invitation to represent Hawaii in national competition May 5-7 in Oklahoma City.

On Oct. 16, St. Anthony's nine-member team beat Kamehameha Maui, Baldwin and Maui high schools in a contest held in the middle of sugar cane fields off Haleakala Highway in Pukalani. Then, during competition Saturday on Molokai, the four Trojans who placed highest at the county level went on to knock perennial powerhouse Kauai High School off the top of the dirt hill. The state championship plaque showed the Kauai team had won the state crown in six of the last nine years.

Winning the state title is no small feat for a school with 320 students in the 7th through 12th grades, said St. Anthony science teacher Paul MacLeod.

Members of the school's Dirt Club worked hard learning how to determine from the feel of soil in their hands whether it should be classified as sand, loam, clay or very clay, he said. Other steps include analyzing the slope of the land and making a recommendation on what would be the land's best use.

Although the students have varied interests, the competition puts an academic discipline in the real world, MacLeod said.

"They get excited about the science," he said. "Science is real. You feel the stuff. It's more than just books.

"They learn the material from a book, but when they go out there they apply that knowledge, and they see what they've learned and how they apply that knowledge," MacLeod said.

"It's something fun to do," said senior Ted Dodson, who finished second in the statewide competition by memorizing a set of soil facts and learning how to decide whether a piece of land would be best used for crops, pasture, an orchard, recreation or wildlife. "It's really cool."

Dodson said he's already applied some of his soils knowledge to a Boy Scout trail construction project.

Junior Christopher Fernandez took third place on Molokai, getting over a bad case of nerves.

"I was so nervous," he said. "I couldn't stand still.

"I was so amazed that we won," Fernandez added. "We were dealing with the best (student soil competitors) of each island."

Sophomore Frank DeFeliccia, who finished in fourth place individually, said his experience with St. Anthony's Dirt Club has taught him about land, how to cultivate it and how to "get the best out of what the land has to offer us."

Sophomore Ryan MacLeod said the competitors on Molokai were all serious about winning and going to the national competition.

"When we were there, the competition was pretty good," he said. "Afterward, it felt great that we were going to go.

"It was all good. We had fun there. We all knew our stuff. You either know your stuff or you don't."

Other team members are seniors Jennifer Hamilton, Julianne Maeda and Sara Matasci and sophomores Malia Hamilton and Elisa Ferreira.

Teacher Paul MacLeod, whose son is Ryan, said the competition gives the students 20 minutes each at three excavated sites where they judge soil type, measure the slope of land and analyze other soil conditions to prepare recommendations for the best use of the land and how to improve it.

To participate in the national Conservation Awareness Contest, the team is plannig to raise at least $5,000 to cover the costs. The competition costs are not covered by the St Anthony school budget.

"We would like to see what it's like at the national level," teacher McLeod said. "We need to do some sort of fundraising to make this thing happen.

"We're going to try to make it happen. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these guys."

Brian Perry can be reached at bperry@mauinews.com.

As winners of a state competition in soil analysis, the St. Anthony Junior Senior High School Dirt Club is eligible to compete at the national level in Oklahoma in May.

Science teacher and club adviser Paul MacLeod said the St. Anthony team will need $5,000 for the trip and is seeking support.

Donations are being accepted. To help the Trojan team, call MacLeod at 244-4190, ext. 244, or send e-mail at pmacleod@sasmaui.org.