By: Patrick Troyer, Education Specialist
On April 25th, teams from Paulding High School and Vantage Career Center competed at the 2017 Area 1 Envirothon Competition held at the Blue Creek Conservation Area located near Whitehouse, Ohio in Lucas County. Paulding FFA under the direction of Advisor Staci Miller and Vantage FFA under the direction of Advisor Mike Miller represented Paulding County at this competition. Paulding FFA had two teams with the following members competing: Abbie McMichael, Madison Parrett, Ashley Bulka, Jordyn Merriman, Austin Howell, making up Team 1. Team 2 members for Paulding FFA included: Riley Noffsinger, Jonathan Reinhard, Shannon Hale, Kaylie Tressler, and Miah Rue. Team Members for Vantage FFA Team 1 included: Austin Adams, Cass Richardson, Skyler Lewis, Caterina John, and Seth Brinkman. Team members for Vantage FFA Team 2 included: Kaiden Detwiler, Kolton Titus, Jared Sukup, Joshua Sukup, and Conner Wannemacher.
The Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District was proud to sponsor the registration fees for both Paulding High School & Vantage Career Center. This contest covered Area 1 for Ohio which includes Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Marion, Morrow, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot Counties.
What is this contest you ask? The Envirothon is a multi-disciplinary, environmental problem-solving competition put on by Soil & Water Conservation Districts with help from our agency partners at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, USDA-NRCS, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This competition consists of a team of five high school students (grades 9-12) train and compete in the areas of soils, aquatics, wildlife, and forestry at regional, state and national levels. Students are also challenged at each station to answer questions on a Current Environmental Issue which this year focused on “Agricultural Soil & Water Conservation Stewardship”. Each school is allowed to bring two teams.
Students rotate within their teams to each of the four stations to answer questions from a test that tests their general knowledge of the subject while also answering questions that are specific to the site. Tests are then scored from each station and tallied for an overall score for each team to determine placings. Teams are ranked first through fourth with a fifth-place alternate selected in the event the fourth place is unable to attend the state competition which will be held at Cedarville University June 11-12, 2018. Those who make it past the state competition advance to the North American Envirothon which will be held July 22-28, 2018 in Pocatello, Idaho. In the North American Envirothon, teams from across the United States and several Canadian provinces compete and test their environmental knowledge.
How did this rewarding competition get its start? The Envirothon program originated in Pennsylvania in 1979 as a hands-on, outdoor competition to test high school students’ knowledge of natural resources and environmental issues. The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts sponsored this inaugural competition. In 1988, the original name, Enviro-Olympics was changed to Envirothon. That year, Pennsylvania hosted the first National Envirothon, which consisted of teams from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The first Ohio Envirothon was held the following year in 1989. Six teams participated, with students from East Knox High School capturing first place and representing Ohio in the 1989 National Envirothon.
In 1990, the Envirothon grew dramatically in Ohio, with more than sixty teams participating in four Area Envirothons. Ohio hosted the National Envirothon that year near Zanesville with Maine, Maryland, and New York joining the competition. By 1993, the Envirothon was well established in Ohio and on its way to becoming a truly national program. More than three hundred students participated in five Area Envirothons in Ohio. The 1993 National Envirothon was held at Niagara Falls, New York and attracted teams from nineteen states and one Canadian province. The program has grown every year since the 1988 competition in Pennsylvania when just three states competed to the thirty-two states and three Canadian provinces participating in the 1996 national competition held in Nebraska. Nova Scotia hosted the 2000 National Envirothon.
Through this competition, not only do students have the opportunity to gain a greater awareness of environmental issues and natural resource management, they also get the opportunity to meet and network with professionals from USDA-NRCS, ODA, ODNR, and Soil & Water Conservation Districts making up Area 1. Through this networking, students also have an opportunity to learn more about environmental career opportunities and responsibilities. To learn more about the Envirothon competition, visit www.area1envirothon.org and see how your school can participate!
This contest is made possible through the generous donation of businesses across the boundaries of Area 1. Once the scores were tallied, Paulding FFA Team 1 placed 35th while Paulding FFA Team 2 placed 42nd. Vantage FFA Team 1 placed 40th while Vantage FFA Team 2 placed 31st. Great Job to our local teams on a job well done!
