Team from Delaware County Wins 2009 Pennsylvania State Envirothon

The team from Penncrest High School in Delaware County is the winner of the 2009 Pennsylvania State Envirothon held May 19 at Bald Eagle State Park, in Howard, Centre County.

 

High school students from 65 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event. Second place finishers were members of the Future Hope Homelearners of Snyder County and the team from Warren Area High School, Warren County, finished third.

 

The Envirothon is designed to give students an opportunity to acquire and demonstrate their knowledge of environmental resources and their connection to each other and human activities. The students are challenged in the areas of aquatic ecology, forestry, soil / land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue. The 2009 current environmental issue was biodiversity in a changing climate.

 

Teams participating represent the best and the brightest of the thousands of high school teens who have competed in county Envirothon competitions sponsored by conservation districts across the state. At the state level, the Envirothon is sponsored by Pennsylvania’s 66 conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts.

 

The program is managed by a board of directors representing those sponsors. Technical expertise is provided by the following agency partners: the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Game Commission, the Fish & Boat Commission, and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service.

 

Financial sponsors of the 2009 Envirothon are EXCO North Coast Energy, Air Products and Chemicals, PPL Corporation, Nestle Water North America, Bayer HealthCare Consumer Care, Canon Envirothon, The Hershey Company, PA Fish and Boat Commission, and the PA Growing Greener Program.

 

The Hershey Company, Dwight Lewis Lumber, Lewis Lumber Products, and Cargill are “Corporate Station Sponsors.”

 

The 2009 Pennsylvania Envirothon champions will represent the Commonwealth at the 22nd Canon Envirothon North American competition planned for August 2-8 at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

 

Pennsylvania has won the North American event in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

 

More than 48 states and eight Canadian provinces have initiated Envirothon contests based on the program that was originally developed by Pennsylvania’s conservation districts.

 

The Pennsylvania Envirothon awarded scholarships to the first, second, and third place teams. The scholarships were sponsored by the Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the State Conservation Commission. Each of the top 10 teams received a plaque and other prizes.

 

For more information on the Envirothon program, contact your local conservation district or contact the Pennsylvania Envirothon by phone 814-623-7900 ext. 111, send email to: paenvirothon@pennswoods.net.