Exhilarating Envirothon!
DaVinci sent two five-person Envirothon teams to the Utah regional competition in St. George for a second year of environmental science testing.
Envirothon is an academic competition, governed by the National Conservation Foundation, which tests students’ knowledge in five environmental science categories (aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, current issue: urban forestry) through written exams, oral presentations and field work (experimentation).
This past weekend, our school sent two teams (of five each) down to St. George for Utah’s regional level. This was their second year participating and they didn’t go in with the intentions of winning any medals or scholarships, despite those being abundant. Instead they wanted to do their personal best, which they definitely did, considering they scored last … last year.
Last year, we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into … but the tests were really similar. (hint, hint) (Emily Rimmasch & August Call)
A location in south-western Utah is always chosen not only because of the vast amount of nature, but …
The weather is supposed to be nice around this time of the year, but whenever we go, it is not. (Ms. Wendeline “Wendy” Roberts, Adviser and Coach)
These students didn’t really know much about environmental science, until Ms. Roberts recommended they join the club. Afterwards, they started to enjoy the interesting lives of plants and the weird ways nature works.
They started preparing back in January with bi-weekly after-school meetings, in which they studied on their own, with only support and assistance from Ms. Roberts. Nonetheless, it’s not any different from their academic classes. It does require rigorous studying, but their most popular method of preparing was work-out montages and laughter (just like their science class, at least AP Bio). Also, a background in science really helps, but surprisingly isn’t required.
Despite all the fun that is science, the club itself is more amusing. Just on their five-hour bus ride, they laughed crazily at science-related jokes and other stories, while playing the same music repeatedly and taking weird-faced selfies. Mrs. Deborah “Deb” Neal (and her husband) were even there, and you would expect her to be stricter and less funny, but that’s only the teacher mask.
They believe they would do better in the competition if it were a class. This situation proved successful last year, when robotics also became two classes: more people participated and they could now learn about building stuff, instead of just do[ing] it. Unfortunately, we don’t have any science teachers with blank periods or electives they’ll give up.
Questions people ask
What is Envirothon?
Envirothon is a yearly environmental science competition for high school teams. Students take written and hands-on field tests and give a presentation. It is run as the NCF-Envirothon, a program of the National Conservation Foundation, with support from conservation districts, the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
What subjects does Envirothon cover?
Teams are tested in five areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a Current Issue topic that changes every year. In 2015 the current issue was urban forestry, as the DaVinci team noted. Tests mix written questions with hands-on field stations, and teams also give an oral presentation on the current issue.
How did Envirothon start?
It began in Pennsylvania in 1979 as the Environmental Olympics, organized by the state’s soil and water conservation districts. It was later called the Enviro-Olympics and became the National Envirothon in 1988. Today state and provincial winners advance to a North American final held each summer in a different U.S. state or Canadian province.
