Fort Defiance High School defeated 14 teams from throughout the Commonwealth to win Virginia’s Envirothon, a natural resources competition for high school students.
Having earlier won the regional title, Fort Defiance, coached by Brent Hull and Eric Stogdale, advanced to the 2011 state competition held May 22-23 at Camp Hanover in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As the new state champions, Fort Defiance travels to Canada to compete in the Canon National Envirothon from July 24-29. Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District sponsors the Fort Defiance team, comprised of students Alden Hough, Zack Gurkin, Anna Shuttle, Lauren Tabor, Marissa Lubkowski, and Megan Wagner.
Envirothon consists of five “in-the-field” test stations – soils, wildlife, aquatics, forestry and a current environmental issue – where teams answer questions in both written and hands-on formats. During an oral presentation, teams brief their solution to a current environmental issue before a panel of judges consisting of industry and natural resource professionals. This year’s issue “Salt & Fresh Water Estuaries” focused on Chesapeake Bay clean-up efforts.
“The intense study required for this contest helps prepare students for college entrance exams, as well as possible careers in field associated with natural resources,” said Ed Overton, president of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. “These students are passionate, dedicated and bright and the Envirothon competition fosters their learning in a unique way that makes me confident in our next generation of decision makers in the environmental field.”
Envirothon is sponsored by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Virginia’s 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts with funding provided by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, the Virginia Chapter of Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Sovereign Paving Inc,, Virginia Credit Union and the Canon Envirothon.
Individuals interested in volunteering or learning more about starting an Envirothon team at your high school, 4-H, FFA, Ecology club or home school group, contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District or the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts at 804.559.0324.
Members of the FDHS Envirothon team, from left to right: Marissa Lubkowski, Anna Shuttle, Lauren Tabor, Megan Wagner and Zack Gurkin.
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