Jul 18, 2018 3 min read

A team of five students from Carmichaels Area High School that won local and state Envirothon competitions earlier this year will soon embark on a major road trip to compete in the 30th NCF-Envirothon Competition, which will be held at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, July 22-28.

The Carmichaels Envirothon team – led by team advisor Kevin Willis and comprised of students Christina Adams, Jacob Hair, Joey Kurincak, Ryan Swartz and Stephen Zacoi – are representing Pennsylvania in the international competition, where they will compete against teams from 47 other states, eight Canadian provinces, one Canadian territory and two Chinese provinces.

Before the team travels to Idaho for the competition, there will be a public send-off celebration at Carmichaels Area High School at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The Carmichaels team earned the honor to represent Pennsylvania at the NCF-Envirothon international competition after winning the 31st Greene County Envirothon competition held at Hunting Hills on May 2, and winning the 35th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition at Susquehanna University and Camp Mount Luther on May 22 and 23.

In the local competition, 55 high school students from Greene County’s five school districts competed in the event; and in the state competition, high school students from 65 Pennsylvania counties participated.

At the Envirothon competitions, 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 teams also prepare and deliver oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluate each team on its problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge, which relates to the current environmental issue.

For the local victory, each student received a $500 scholarship; and for the state win, each team member received a $1,250 scholarship from the PA Envirothon. The scholarships were sponsored by Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts and Shell Oil.

This year marks the ninth year in a row and the 10th time overall that a Carmichaels team has placed in the top 5 and the 13th year in a row that the team has placed in the top 10 at the State Envirothon.

Donations are being accepted for the trip, and for resources, supplies, transportation and other expenses. Donations can be sent to Carmichaels Area High School, 225 North Vine Street, Carmichaels, PA 15320. On the memo line, write “NCF Envirothon.” For more information, call Carmichaels Area High School at 724-966-5045, or call the Greene County Conservation District at 724-852-5278.