The Bradford Bees Envirothon team took eighth place at the 39th Pennsylvania Envirothon competition, scoring 472.33 out of 600 possible points.
Steven Williams, Sydney Hamer, Lilly Kemick, Cecily Bell and Emmy Kemick, along with their advisors Jan Russell and Rich Bierbower, kicked off the Envirothon by participating in the event’s oral component. Teams submitted their presentations electronically and then answered questions from a panel of judges through a Zoom meeting.
The station testing was held in-person at Camp Mount Luther on May 22. High school students from 63 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event.
At the Envirothon, five-member teams participated in a series of field station tests that focused on five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and environmental issues. The 2024 current environmental issue focused on “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.” The teams prepared and delivered oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluated each team on its problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge, which related to the current environmental issue.
Teams participating represent the best and the brightest of the thousands of high school teens who have competed in county Envirothon competitions sponsored by conservation districts from across the commonwealth. At the state level, the Envirothon is sponsored by Pennsylvania’s 66 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: PA Department of Agriculture, PA Department of Environmental Protection, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PA Game Commission, PA Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The 2024 Pennsylvania Envirothon champions were from Erie County, scoring 537 points out of 600 possible to earn the honor to represent Pennsylvania at the NCF-Envirothon competition planned for July 28 to Aug. 3 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y.
For more information about Envirothon, visit envirothonpa.org.
