KENT, Conn.—Marvelwood School in Kent placed first in the annual Connecticut Envirothon competition held May 22 at Indian Rock Nature Preserve in Bristol.
The school’s Martens team scored an overall 462 points to secure the top spot for the school.
The team will represent Connecticut at the NCF Envirothon competition July 20- 26 at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The Martens sister team, the Otters, scored a total of 367.5.
The Martens were topped or tied by other schools in each of five divisions of competition, but consistently scored among the highest teams, securing the overall victory.
Marvelwood was not the only team carrying home honors, however. Falls Village’s Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s Agriscience/Oaks team took second place, with a score of 447.8, while its Mountain Laurel team tallied 418.7 for sixth place.
The Agriscience/Oaks team placed first in the Wildlife and Soils categories with scores of 92 and 90 respectively.
Nonnewaug High School’s Woodbury FFA team placed first in the Current Issue Presentation with a score of 124.7.
It was the 33rd year for the Connecticut Envirothon and the event pitted approximately 120 students from across the state against each other in demonstrating their knowledge in Forestry, Soils, Aquatics, Wildlife and a Current Issue. Students took tests on their environmental knowledge and delivered presentations to a panel of judges.
For the “issue” question, each group shared PowerPoint presentations in which they detailed 10-year-plans for a 400-acre property in the fictional city of “Hillvale,” planning for such things as climate change, creation of jobs for the local economy and benefitting the health and wellness of city residents.
T-shirts and other prizes were awarded to all the participating teams. The top three school teams received a locally wood-burned wooden plaque and individual medals.
The Connecticut Envirothon is coordinated by conservation districts from across the state and was sponsored by the Connecticut DEEP, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and other stakeholder groups.
