NORTHUMBERLAND -- More than 50 teams totaling 250 high school students from Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties participated in the annual Susquehanna Valley Envirothon on Tuesday at the Shikellamy State Park Overlook.
Students in grades nine through 12 were tested at five stations on aquatics, forestry, wildlife, soils and a current issue, alternative and renewable energy.
Lewisburg's team learned about log rafting with their teacher, Van Wagner, on Tuesday morning, while a few yards away, some students slaved over their first test of the day at the current issues station, although for some, it was a good start to the morning.
"It was very easy. I think we passed with flying colors," said Scooter Gass, of the Lewisburg team.
Across the overlook, more students examined trees and tried to identify them.
Most of the students at Tuesday's event weren't looking forward to hitting the soil test because it's a difficult one, consisting of work with buckets and in a trench to examine the various layers of soil.
"It's pretty challenging," said Carlie Chiavaroli, of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School, Coal Township. "They get into a lot of detail about the local environment. If you want a challenge, if you really want to test yourself, this is a good test to take."
The overall winner of Tuesday's competition was the Future HOPE team, a group of home-schooled students from Snyder County. This is the sixth consecutive year that the team has won the event.
"It's hard work," said Michael Hoffman, 16, of Mount Pleasant Mills.
He and his advisers, Barbara Angstadt, of Middleburg, and Jennifer Caplinger, of New Berlin, said work to prepare for the event is ongoing through independent study and field trips.
"We all have an interest in the outdoors," said Daniel Wise, 16, of New Berlin. "That's why we do it."
Other members of the team are Kelcie Angstadt, 15, of Middleburg; Miriam Wise, 17, of New Berlin; and Nathaniel Wise, 16, of New Berlin.
Individual county winners were Southern Columbia High School, for Columbia County; Sunbury Christian Academy, Northumberland County; Future HOPE, Snyder County; and Mifflinburg Area High School, Union County.
Teams that ranked high at individual stations were Future HOPE in soils and forestry, Southern Columbia in aquatics and wildlife and Shikellamy High School in current issues.
The top five teams from Tuesday's competition will advance to the state competition, to be held this month at Pennsylvania State University.
And while the students who move on to states will see the same five main stations, they also will have to tackle another obstacle that they didn't encounter Tuesday: an oral presentation.
Winners of the state competition will advance to the Canon Envirothon this summer in New York.
n Chris O'Rourke is the news director at CCN News 8 in Danville.
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Home-schooled students are tops at Envirothon
Home-schooled students are tops at Envirothon
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