Colorado high school students advance to international Envirothon Competition
A team of high school students from Colorado are putting their environmental knowledge to the test this summer at the international Envirothon competition in New Brunswick, Canada where they’re competing for $25,000 in scholarship awards.
Woodland Park High School students Liam Marney, Kaitlin Meyers, Henry Maure, Finnie Leudecke and Allie Orellana, along with their advisors, Alicia Mauer and Rose Banzhaf, earned the title of Colorado Envirothon State Competition champions.
Their team was one of six high school teams from across the state that participated in the event hosted at Colorado State University’s Denver-based Spur campus earlier this spring.
Two teams from Woodland Park High School participated in the competition along with teams representing Valley High School in Gilcrest and Lone Star High School in Otis, and two teams from San Luis Valley’s Del Norte High School.
Each of the 26 participating students received $1,000 scholarships from the CSU Office of Engagement and Extension.
Each of the 26 participating students received $1,000 scholarships from the CSU Office of Engagement and Extension that can be applied toward any degree program offered through CSU. The College of Agricultural Sciences provided additional scholarship funding for members of the top three teams.
During the competition, the teams were tested on their skills and knowledge in five topic areas: wildlife, soils, aquatic ecology, forestry, and adapting to climate change – a new topic this year. Each team was given an environmental scenario and two hours to brainstorm and develop a solution to an environmental scenario that incorporated all five discipline areas before presenting to a panel of five expert judges.
The teams also took part in hands-on, practical tests based on the five topic areas, with tasks ranging from determining the color and texture of various soil horizons and identifying tree species to correctly pinpointing which skull, hide, track or scat belonged to which animal.
CSU Extension Teller County Director Mark Platten served as Envirothon’s director for the event, which was organized and run by the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts in partnership with volunteers from the Natural Resources Conversation Service, the Colorado State Forest Service, the US Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
In between challenges, students heard presentations about CSU’s academic pathways and talked with representatives from natural resource organizations about potential career opportunities.
“The students made new friends and developed their critical thinking and presentation skills, but it was also apparent by the amount of laughter that teams had a lot of fun while learning and competing too,” Platten said.
According to Platten, this year’s event was especially significant as it marked the end of a three-year hiatus for the statewide competition, which has not been held since before the pandemic. Now, Colorado will once again have a team representing the state on the world stage.
Additional support from local conservation districts covered registration and travel costs for the student teams to attend the Colorado Envirothon State Competition. The Colorado Association of Conservation Districts is covering travel expenses for Woodland Park High School’s team to attend the international competition underway July 23-29.
