For the Gazette

STEVENS POINT – SPASH senior, Clare Viau, recently won a national award from the National FFA Organization at its annual convention.

Viau took first place in the Division 5 “Plant Systems” category. This was Clare’s fourth year as a national finalist in the agriscience fair project in that category.

The purpose of the research was to understand how the growth and edible mass of kale, green bean, and radishes will compare when grown in soil representing a plant growth environment on a space station. Three different species were tested in two different soil types.

Viau starts with an experiment and collects data over a period of time.  A report is then written and submitted to the Wisconsin State FFA where she was judged on the report and also went through an interview process. 

State winners are announced during the State convention held in Madison every June.  After the state convention, the winners receive their scores along with comments.

 The national FFA organization then announces the top 10 national finalists and each finalist designs a display for their project for the national FFA convention.