HARRISBURG – Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger congratulated members of Delaware County’s Penncrest High School Envirothon Team for taking first place in the national Canon Envirothon held earlier this month at the University of North Carolina–Asheville.
“This is the 11th year that a team from Pennsylvania has won this prestigious national environmental education competition,” Hanger said. “This impressive record reflects the importance Pennsylvania places on providing students with a solid background in our environment and ecology standards.”
More than 260 teenagers from 45 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces were tested on their knowledge of soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and a current environmental issue. This year’s issue for the competition was “Biodiversity in a Changing World.” Students analyzed the long-term and short-term impact of natural environmental occurrences and human activities on genes, species and ecosystems relative to how each may influence or directly impact their future.
The Penncrest team advanced to the national competition after winning Pennsylvania’s Envirothon competition held in May at Bald Eagle State Park, Centre County. High school students from 65 counties participated in this year’s state competition.
This is the third national first place finish for Penncrest High School. Members of the team include: Mark Samilenko (team sponsor), Amanda Meltz (team sponsor), Katie Davis, Katie Ferguson, Elizabeth Freeburg, Alex Senko and Jennifer Walker.
A team from Pennsylvania has won the North American event in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2009.
The national competition is organized by the National Association of Conservation Districts, the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A) Forest Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in the U.S and in Canada by the Provincial Forestry Associations.
Pennsylvania’s Envirothon competition is organized by Pennsylvania conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts. Technical expertise is provided by the following agency partners: Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
