Bellefonte High students take first in Centre Envirothon
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Pictured are students at the Soils and Land Use station during the Envirothon.
HOWARD -- The Centre County Conservation District held its 38th annual Envirothon competition for local high school students on Wednesday, April 26, at Bald Eagle State Park.
The Envirothon is an outdoor environmental education competition for high school students. Five-member teams take a comprehensive exam as they rotate through a circuit of five stations.
The five stations in the 2023 competition were: Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils and Land Use, Wildlife and Adapting to a Changing Climate.
The team that accumulates the highest total score wins the county competition and will move on to the Pennsylvania Envirothon which will be held on May 24 at Camp Mount Luther in Mifflinburg, Pa.
Ten high school teams from Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte and Penns Valley participated in the Envirothon.
The winning team was from Bellefonte High School, earning a total of 360 points. The winning team members are Allison Berkey, Ivan Spigelmyer, Landon Simpson, Taryn Wagner and Trenton Haagen. Faculty advisors for the team are Myken Poorman and Dan Sharp.
Helping with the Envirothon were representatives from the PA Fish and Boat Commission, PA Game Commission, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Bureau of Forestry, United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Centre County Conservation District.
During the event, the students enjoyed an informative presentation on wildlife rehabilitation by Robyn Graboski of Centre Wildlife Care.
Robyn showcased several animals from her organization, including a box turtle, a big brown bat, a barn owl, a red-tailed hawk and a striped skunk.