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Environmental challenge:
Local students compete at Envirothon
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| By: Erin Lemley |
05/04/2004 | |
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WEST
BURLINGTON - Sixteen teams, five students per team, from Wyalusing, Northeast Bradford, Athens and Canton High Schools competed
in the annual Bradford County Envirothon held at Mt. Pisgah State Park Monday.
The teens
competed in five different environmental categories; aquatics, forestry, wildlife, soil and land use, and current issues.
For instance, at the forestry station each group tried to figure out how many board feet were in a particular tree, according
to sophomore Marc Waltemyer of Northeast Bradford.
Before the Envirothon, students studied how those five categories interact
and what each needs to be healthy. They also learned how human activities affect the local climate and in turn impact the
rest of the natural environment, according to The Pennsylvania Envirothon Inc.
Northeast Bradford Senior Matt Wickwire
feared that NEB Group One did worst at the aquatics station. "The charts were hard to understand," he said as the rest of
the group nodded in agreement. They guessed they probably did best at the forestry station, so NEB Group One was surprised
when their highest score actually came from the aquatics station.
The students also evaluated soil, discussed current
environmental issues, and identified bird calls, skulls, and mounted animals.
"A lot of people think it's important to
teach you guys about the environment," Rich Guylas of the Bradford County Conservation District told the students before revealing
their results. State Rep. Tina Pickett presented the first, second and third place teams with Envirothon t-shirts, medals
and plaques.
In first place was the Wyalusing Green Team; Loren Welles, Ricky Gowin, Debie Blair, A.J. McKennas and Amber
Adams with 387 points. The team will represent Bradford County at the Pennsylvania Envirothon.
In second place was the
Wyalusing Gold Team; Sarah Miller, Melissa Bell, Cam Smith, Zach Snavely and Jason Fulmer with 372 points.
In third place
was the Athens "A" Team; Lynsey Arnold, Josh Knect, Christine Knapp, Lauren Kingsley and Drew Chapman with 324 points.
Judges
and facilitators included game commission officers, fish and coat commission officers and representatives from several environmental
agencies located at the Stoll Natural Resources Center in Wysox.
The Bradford County Envirothon was hosted by the Bradford
County Conservation District. Other sponsors included C&G Wilcox Engraving, Leona Meats, USDA and agencies at the Stoll
Center, and Winger Feeds.
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