18 high school teams, a new record high, compete in Niagara-Orleans Envirothon

2 of the teams qualify for state competition

Provided photos: The teams in that competed in the Niagara-Orleans Envirothon are shown at the Bond Lake Park Nature Center in Lewiston.

Press Release, Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District

LEWISTON – Eighteen teams of high school students from across Niagara and Orleans counties competed on Thursday at the Niagara-Orleans Envirothon held at Bond Lake Park Nature Center in Lewiston.

Five schools participated along with teams from both Niagara and Orleans Career and Technical Education Centers.  Teams of four to six students in grades 9-12 were tested on wildlife, aquatics, forestry, soils/land use, and the current environmental issue topic.

This year’s current issue is “Non-Point Source Pollution: It Begins at Home!” Students learned about NPS pollution and how to identify its origins in both urban and rural settings.

They learned how to conduct their own NPS survey in their community and watershed. Additionally, they learned NPS mitigation strategies, which encompass actions at both the individual level – such as conservation, recycling, and responsible consumption – and the community level, including watershed planning, best management practices, nature-based solutions, water quality testing, and litter prevention initiatives. Students had to present their plan and also take an exam on the topic.

The overall winner and the top team from Niagara County included students from the Niagara/Orleans Career and Technical Center. The team is in Mr. Kapiewicz’s class and students include Nathan Couturier, David Gurski, Jordyn Kinne, Andre Williams and Adam Yanicki.

Congratulations to the team from Niagara Orleans Career and Technical Center for winning from Niagara County and being the Over-All Envirothon Winners! The team was from Mr. Kapiewicz’s class, students included Nathan Couturier, David Gurski, Jordyn Kinne, Andre Williams, and Adam Yanicki.  This team also was the highest scoring team on the Forestry, Soils and Current Issue exams.

Congratulations to the winners from the Orleans Niagara Career and Technical Center for winning Orleans County from Ms. Kiefer’s class, students included Kennedy Clapp, Mackenzie Diamond, Fawn Elko, Autumn McIntyre, Lauren Nagel and Jill Utley.

Both winners will move on to represent their county at the NYS Envirothon later this month.  Good Luck to both teams!

The top team from Orleans County was a group from Orleans/Niagara Career and Technical Center in Ms. Kiefer’s class. Students include Kennedy Clapp, Mackenzie Diamond, Fawn Elko, Autumn McIntyre, Lauren Nagel and Jill Utley.

The Maple Walnuts from Niagara CTEC included Alexandria Ledger, Carter Kennedy, Bella Muck, Trent Pope and Kayla Terry were awarded first place for their oral presentation on the current issue.

The NCTEC Sigmas won the Wildlife portion of the event. Students included Sophia Brice, Conner Lalewicz, Rowen Patterson, Aaron Willis and Lucas Wiseman.

The Aquatics portion was awarded to a team from Royalton-Hartland. Purple Power students were Jaycie Heck, Gabriella Mastromatte. Emma Micel and Delilah Morris.

A special thank you to this year’s event sponsors NewRoyal Orchards, Poverty Hill Farm, and the Environmental Education Foundation of Soil and Water Conservation for providing breakfast, lunch, goodie bags, awards, and Envirothon shirts for the students.

This year schools were each given a Biltmore stick, a forestry tool used to estimate tree diameters and heights. Exams and proctoring were provided by the Aquarium of Niagara, Mr. Paul Dewey, the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, and both Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Vic DiGiacomo of the NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee and Ronny Raindrop of the NYS Conservation District Employees Association came to hand out awards to the winners. Shout out to the Niagara County Parks crew out at Bond Lake who are always wonderful on the setup and tear-down of our Envirothon.

The Niagara-Orleans Envirothon is a yearly event for county high school students presented by Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District and Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District.  Envirothon is an environmental competition on different aspects of natural resources.  It gives students hands-on experience and knowledge of the environment to understand how to protect and manage the natural resources around them.

For more information about Envirothon visit www.envirothon.org or www.nysenvirothon.org.  To participate next year please reach out to our offices by calling 716-434-4949 ext. 4 or emailing Katherine.pfeifer@ny.nacdnet.net or the Orleans SWCD at 585-589-5959 or email Guinevere.dillhoff@ny.nacdnet.net.