Team From North East High School In Erie County Wins 2024 PA Envirothon, Now Goes To International Competition In July

The Pennsylvania Envirothon announced a five-member team from North East High School in Erie County won the 2024 Statewide Envirothon and will represent the Commonwealth at the 34th NCF Envirothon international competition July 28 – August 3 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. 

More than 45 teams from the United States, Canada, and China are expected to compete in the international Envirothon.

Pennsylvania teams with the top 10 scores include--

-- First Place: North East High School, Erie County, with a score of 537 (out of 600)

-- Second Place: York Homeschool Association, York County, with a score of 535

-- Third Place: Pleasant Valley High School, Monroe County, with a score of 533.7

-- Fourth Place: Canton High School, Bradford County, with a score of 518

-- Fifth Place: Penncrest High School, Delaware County, with a score of 515.3

-- Sixth Place: Carmichaels Area High School, Greene County, with a score of 489.7

-- Seventh Place:  Homeschoolers for Christ Co-Op, Indiana County, with a score of 477.3

-- Eighth Place: Bradford Area High School, Mckean County, with a score of 472.3

-- Ninth Place: Lakeview High School, Mercer County, with a score of 470.7

-- Tenth Place: Upper Dauphin Area High School, Dauphin County, with a score of 446.3

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.” 

Teams submitted their presentations electronically and then answered questions from a panel of judges through a Zoom meeting. The in-person Station testing was held in-person at Camp Mount Luther in Union County on May 22. 

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.

The Pennsylvania Envirothon awarded scholarships to the first through seventh place teams. 

The scholarships were sponsored by Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts. Each of the top ten teams received a plaque and other prizes.

The high station winners, with scores, include:

-- Soils/Land Use: Carmichaels Area High School, Greene County, with a score of 94

-- Aquatic Ecology: North East High School, Erie County, with a score of 97

-- Forestry: Lakeview High School, Mercer County, with a score of 93

-- Wildlife: Pleasant Valley High School, Monroe County, with a score of 94

-- Current Issue: Canton High School, Bradford County, with a score of 85

-- Oral Presentation Component: North East High School, Erie County, with a score of 100

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, PA 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 2024 Envirothon include the Department of Environmental Protection, State Conservation Commission, Digital First Sponsor PSECU, Shell Oil Company, PPL Electric Utilities, Northumberland National Bank, Weis Markets, UGI Utilities, PA Trappers Association, Chesapeake Energy, EQT Corporation, 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 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.

In 2023, the Penncrest High School Team from Delaware County took second place in the International Envirothon competition in New Brunswick, Canada and in 2022 a team from the same high school placed 10th in the same competition.  Read more here.

For more information on the Envirothon program, contact the county conservation district or visit the Pennsylvania Envirothon website or Facebook page or call (570) 837-3000 or send email to execdirector@envirothonpa.org. 

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[Posted: May 28, 2024]  PA Environment Digest