A five-member team of high school students from Penncrest High School in Media, Delaware County, earned second-place honors early this month at the 2015 International NCF-Envirothon.

A week-long North American natural resource education competition, a program of the National Conservation Foundation, working in partnership with Smithfield Foods, local conservation districts, forestry associations, educators and cooperating natural resources agencies to organize and conduct competitions on the local, regional, state and/or provincial level.

(Photo: Penncrest Team, from left: Abigail Pearse, Lucy Hall, Vy-Linh Gale, Justin Rosenberg, and Daniel Rosenberger.)

The Envirothon is North America’s largest high school environmental education competition. Over four thousand highs schools were involved in the 2015 program across North America.

“The National Conservation Foundation congratulates not only the winning team, but all the students who participated in this year’s competition,” said Steve Robinson, Chair of the NCF Board of Trustees, “We are so proud of all of the students’ efforts and commitment to helping preserve our natural resources.”

Each student on the top three teams will receive a cash award. The first place winners receive $3,000 each; second place $2,000 each; and third place $1,000 each.

The NCF-Envirothon tests teams on their knowledge of soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and a current issue (2015 Urban/Community Forests). Each team's knowledge is tested under the supervision of foresters, soil scientists, wildlife specialists and other natural resource professionals.

Teamwork, problem-solving and presentation skills are evaluated as each team offers a panel of judges an oral presentation with recommendations for solving the specific challenge that is presented during the competition.

Envirothon competitions began in Pennsylvania through the efforts of county conservation districts and grew into an international movement.  Click Here for more information on the Pennsylvania Envirothon.

Forests Ontario will host the North American Envirothon in Ontario in 2016. The dates will be July 24th - July 29th, 2016. For more information, visit the Forests Ontario website.

(Reprinted from DCNR’s August 26 Resource newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy (bottom of the page).)

8/31/2015