Four high school teams advance to state Envirothon following competition in Wayne County

Students, advisers and volunteers from Northeast Ohio gathered at the Kidron Community Center and Park to experience a Soil and Water Educational tradition known as the Envirothon.

The Envirothon is a competitive, academic, outdoor team event for high school students that tests their knowledge in five areas − aquatic ecology, current environmental issues (this year was renewable energy for a sustainable future), forestry, soils and wildlife.

Teams consist of five members from the same school and though each student contributes his or her personal best, the score that counts is the team score. An adult adviser must accompany the team, but is not permitted to assist during competition.

Wayne SWCD started planning for the one-day event over 10 months prior. As the stages of the planning proceeded, it all came together on a perfect day when close to 300 were in attendance. There were 43 high school teams from 14 counties and 24 schools. In addition, there were 20 advisers competing on teams, which brings the total team count up to 48.

Wayne SWCD provided a free box of Lerch’s Donuts to each team, lunch to everyone served by JW Concessions and K-Stone Concessions, an advisers tour/trip to Lehman’s and much more thanks to sponsors. Awards were donated by The Romich Foundation Makerspace for the top four teams going to the state Envirothon, as well as the eco-station winners.

The top four teams from Area 2 that will advance to the state competition June 3-5 at Hocking College are:

1. Boardman Channel Cats from Mahoning County, Boardman
2. Southeast Maroon from Portage County, Southeast High School
3. EnviroQueens from Portage County, Theodore Roosevelt High School
4. Columbiana Red from Columbiana County, Columbiana High School

Team results, tests and answers, sponsor lists and photos and more can be found at https://www.wayneswcd.org/home/education/envirothon.