Here are the members of the champion Viking Envirothon squad. From L to R: Sylvia Berka, Chloe Blackburn, Abby Prom, Maya McHugh, Hazel Oberholtzer, Ellen Callender, Louise Ramberg, Lucy Callender, Robin Henrikson, Amelia Roth, Aurora Schelmeske, Ladin Kivircik, Doran Acero, Claire LaVigne. Back row L-R: Andy Kern, Leif Anderson, Henry DeArruda-Wharton, and Will Surbaugh.
The I.S.D. 166 high school Envirothon teams placed first and third at the Area 3, Northeast meet held at the Cloquet Forestry Center meet held on May 7.
Not a bad finish considering they were competing against 40 squads hailing from the Arrowhead region.
The Vikings top two teams now advance to the 2018 Minnesota State Envirothon competition that will be held May 21, at Shetek Lutheran Ministries in Slayton, Minnesota.
This year the Vikings fielded three teams. Team 1 contestants are Andy Kern, Lucy Callender, Abby Prom, Leif Anderson and Claire LaVigne with Ladin Kivircik as the alternate. Team 2 is made up of Amelia Roth, Aurora Schelmeske, Hazel Oberholtzer , Robin Henrikson and Doran Acero with Chloe Blackburn as the alternate. Team 3 participants include Louise Ramberg, Sylvia Berke, Ellen Callender, Will Surbaugh, and Henry DeArruda-Weaver.
Chad Benesh, who teaches science and coaches the kids, said,
“We are bringing five kids from the first team, and five kids plus one alternate from the second team,” to the state competition.
Minnesota’ soil and water district’s coordinate the Envirothon meets, which was begun in 1979 by the Pennsylvania Association Conservation District and brought to Minnesota in 1993. Today, more than 1,200 students take part in nine regions.
The Envirothon is an outdoor, hands-on learning competition for high school and middle school students. It centers on five different learning stations including soils, wildlife, water resources, forestry, and a current environmental issue. Each station consists of a short presentation about the topic by a resource professional, followed by a test taken by the students.
Test questions range from analyzing soil textures, identifying trees, and preparing an oral presentation along with answering questions posed by a panel of judges.
Teams consisting of five students travel to learning stations and spend 30 minutes at each station, answering a quiz given at the end of each station. Each stop has a different topic; it might be soils, wildlife, forestry, or aquatics.
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