Northampton County team places in top 10 for state Envirothon

MIDDLEBURG, Pa. — A team of students from the Lehigh Valley placed ninth in last week’s statewide Envirothon competition.

• Bangor Area High School placed ninth overall at the state Envirothon competition
• The team placed first in the wildlife station
• The annual event is a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science

Bangor Area High School’s team, the winner of the Northampton County competition, scored 443 points, according to a news release from the PA Envirothon’s board of directors. The team also placed first in the wildlife station, with a score of 98.

Teams of students from 63 counties competed in this year’s Envirothon, held as a hybrid competition with an oral component and in-person station testing at Camp Mt. Luther in Mifflinburg, Union County. A team from Penncrest High School in Delaware County placed first with a score of 529 out of a possible 600.

The other team to compete from the Valley, with students from Emmaus High School, did not place in the top 10.

Essentially a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science, the Envirothon combines classroom learning and outdoor activities so high school students “think critically about the natural world and their roles in it,” according to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

This year’s theme was “Adapting to a Changing Climate.” Teams delivered oral presentations from May 17 to 19 to panels of judges. They evaluated each team on their project’s problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge, which related to the theme.

At the in-person event, May 24, 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.

For more information on the Envirothon program, visit envirothonpa.org.