Penncrest High School Team, Delaware County Took Statewide Honors At PA Envirothon

On May 26, Pennsylvania Envirothon announced the winner of the statewide competition is Penncrest High School Team from Delaware County with a score of 556.3 who will represent Pennsylvania in the International Envirothon July 24-30 at Miami University of Ohio.

Rounding out the list of top 10 winners are--

-- Second Place – North East School District, Erie County, with a score of 525.2;

-- Third Place –Bangor Area HS, Northampton County, with a score of 507;

-- Fourth Place – Pleasant Valley High School, Monroe County, with a score of 505.7;

-- Fifth Place – Palmyra Area High School, Lebanon County, with a score of 502.7;

-- Sixth Place –York Home School Association, York County, with a score of 487;

-- Seventh Place – Carmichaels Area High School, Greene County, with a score of 486.7;

-- Eighth Place – Bradford Area High School, McKean County, with a score of 479;

-- Ninth Place –Homeschoolers for Christ, Indiana County, with a score of 464.7;

-- Tenth Place – Canton High School, Bradford County, with a score of 455.7.

The Pennsylvania Envirothon awarded scholarships to the first through seventh place teams. The scholarships were sponsored by Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts and Shell Oil. Each of the top ten teams received a plaque and other prizes.

The high issue station winners, with scores, include:

-- Soils/Land Use – Palmyra Area High School, Lebanon County, with a score of 90;

-- Aquatic Ecology – Penncrest High School, Delaware County, with a score of 94;

-- Forestry – Penncrest High School, Delaware County, with a score of 93;

-- Wildlife – Bangor Area High School, Northampton County, with a score of 96;

-- Current Issue – Penncrest High School, Delaware County, with a score of 97;

-- Oral Presentation Component – Tulpehocken Area High School, Berks County, with a score of 95.

Click Here to see photos of the 2022 winning teams!

The Competition

The 39th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held as a “hybrid” competition. The Oral Component was held May 17-20.  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 25th, 2022. High school students from 62 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event.

"As a board, we were so excited to return to an in-person event for the 2022 Pennsylvania Envirothon,” said Celina Seftas, PA Envirothon board chair and District Manager for the Huntingdon County Conservation District.  “The students who participated were not only building their skills in practical resource management fields such as forestry, wildlife conservation, and aquatic biology; but perhaps most importantly, Envirothon students are interacting with agency professionals and exposed to numerous career outcomes.  

“We are immensely proud of these students' accomplishments and wish them all the best as they kick start their careers and take the lessons learned about conservation and natural resources from the Envirothon with them throughout their lives,"  Seftas added.

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 2022 current environmental issue focused on “Waste to Resources.” 

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 sixty-six 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: Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game Commission, Fish and Boat Commission, Department of Education, and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Sponsors and partners of the 2022 Envirothon include the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Digital First Sponsor PSECU, Shell Oil Company, PPL Electric Utilities, EQT Foundation, Weis, UGI Utilities, PA Trappers Association, Chesapeake Energy, Seneca Resources, and Pennsylvania American Water.

Envirothon History

The first-ever Envirothon competition was created in Pennsylvania in 1979 by the Fulton, Luzerne and Schuylkill conservation districts and by 1984 the program expanded to a statewide competition and then nationally and internationally.

Now more than 15,000 high school students across the state compete in 67 county Envirothons.

Pennsylvania has won the International Envirothon competition in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2017 and frequently places in the top 10 finishers.

For more information on the Envirothon program, contact your county conservation district or visit the Pennsylvania Envirothon website, call (570) 837-3000, or email paenvirothon@gmail.com.

Related Article:

-- Pennsylvania’s Envirothon Team Places 7th In International Envirothon Competition!   [2021]

[Posted: May 27, 2022]  PA Environment Digest