A five-member team of high school students from Penncrest High School in Delaware County won the 2017 International NCF-Envirothon competition, a leading environmental education program run by the National Conservation Foundation which started in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has won the international event in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2009.

At the Envirothon, five-member teams participate in a series of field station tests that focus on five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues.

The top three scoring teams were awarded a total of $30,000 in cash prizes at an awards ceremony held at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on Friday.

This year, high schools from 45 states, seven Canadian provinces, and two Chinese provinces participated in the NCF-Envirothon at the state/provincial, regional, and international levels.

“NCF offers its congratulations to the winning team and all the students who participated in Envirothon competitions over the last year,” said Carly Burton, the program manager for the NCF-Envirothon. “This year’s competitors blew the judges away with their advanced critical thinking skills and mastery of soils, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship.”

The 2017 NCF-Envirothon’s cash prizes were sponsored by Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer and processor.

Other event sponsors included the National Association of Conservation Districts, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and other organizations recognized here on the official NCF-Envirothon website.

In Pennsylvania

At the state level, the Envirothon is sponsored by Pennsylvania’s sixty-six county 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 partners:  departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Game Commission, Fish and Boat Commission, and U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Sponsors and partners of the 2017 Envirothon are Department of Environmental Protection, Shell Oil Company, The Hershey Company, EQT Foundation, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Weis, SWN, Chief Oil & Gas LLC, UGI Utilities, National Conservation Foundation Envirothon, and Department of Education. 

For more information on the Envirothon program, contact your county conservation district or contact the Pennsylvania Envirothon by phone 814-623-7900 ext. 111 or send email to: lsteach@envirothonpa.org.   Click Here to sign up regular updates from PA Envirothon.

(Photo: Bill Gill (Smithfield Foods), Mark Samilenko and Chrissa Kuntz (coaches), Rachel Hughes, Dennis Harrsch, Thy-Lan Gale, Abigail Schwartz, Cole Gaboriault, and Millie Langley (NCF-Envirothon).

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[Posted: August 7, 2017]

8/14/2017