Students of Penncrest High School in Delaware County walked off with first-place honors after competing May 20 and 21 in the 31st Pennsylvania State Envirothon at Susquehanna University and PPL Montour Preserve.

The 2014 state champions scored 522.33 points of a possible 600 while competing this year with student teams from 64 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Other winning teams and their scores were:

Second Place, YHSA Homeschoolers, York County, with a score of 520; third, Carmichaels Area High School, Greene County, 510; fourth, Palmyra Area High School, Lebanon County, 482; fifth, Downingtown East High School, Chester County, 481.33; sixth, Redbank Valley High School, Clarion County, 473; seventh, Neshaminy High School, Bucks County, 453.67; eighth, Central Valley High School, Beaver County, 447.33; ninth, Blue Mountain High School, Schuylkill; 446.67; and tenth, Lewisburg Area High School, Union County, 445.67.

At the Envirothon, five-member teams participate in a series of field station tests focusing on five topic areas: soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and environmental issues. The 2014 current environmental issue focused on Sustainable Agriculture/Buying Local.

The teams also prepared and delivered oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluate each team on its problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge, which relates to the current environmental issue.

Participating teams represented the best and the brightest of the thousands of high school teens who have competed in county Envirothon competitions sponsored by conservation districts from across the state.

At the state level, the Envirothon is sponsored by Pennsylvania’s sixty-six conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission, and the PA Association of Conservation Districts. The program is managed by a board of directors representing those sponsors.

Technical expertise is provided by the following: Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game Commission, Fish and Boat Commission, U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania Farmers Union.

Sponsors and partners of the 2014 Envirothon are: PPL Corp., Marcellus Shale Coalition, Shell Oil Co., Air Products Foundation, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Access Midstream, Canon USA, Envirothon, departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Education, Pa. Trappers Association, Pa. Association of Conservation Districts, and the State Conservation Commission.

The Hershey Co., Dwight Lewis Lumber, Lewis Lumber Products, PPL, and Cargill are corporate station sponsors.

Winners of the 2014 Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition will be recognized as the state champions and will receive additional scholarship funding or an educational excursion on the Chesapeake Bay.

The Pennsylvania Envirothon awarded scholarships to the first, second, and third place teams. The scholarships were sponsored by Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts and Pennsylvania Envirothon. Each of the top ten teams received a plaque and other prizes.

For more information on the Envirothon program, contact your county conservation district, visit the Pennsylvania Envirothon website, call 814-623-8099 or send email to: paenvirothon@pennswoods.net.

(Reprinted from the May 28 DCNR Resource newsletter. Click Here and go to the bottom of the page to sign up for your own copy.  And the May 29 DEP News.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

6/2/2014