Lyndonville team wins Niagara-Orleans Envirothon

Photos and information courtesy of Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District: A team from Lyndonville won the Niagara-Orleans Envirothon on Wednesday. The team was from Mrs. Wronski’s class, and students included Maddie Baker, James Giarla, Molly Ingersoll and Jocelyn Mack.

LEWISTON – A team from Lyndonville Central School was first among 12 schools and won the Niagara-Orleans Envirothon on Wednesday at the Bond Lake Park Nature Center in Lewiston.

The team was from Mrs. Wronski’s class, and students included Maddie Baker, James Giarla, Molly Ingersoll and Jocelyn Mack.

The team from Lyndonville also won the Oral Presentation, Current Issue, and Soils portions of Envirothon.

Twelve teams of high school students competed from Albion, Brockport, Christian Academy, Lewiston-Porter, Lockport, Lyndonville, Medina, Newfane, Niagara Academy, Niagara Falls, Niagara Wheatfield, North Tonawanda, Royalton Hartland, Starpoint, Wilson, Niagara Career & Technical Education Center, and Orleans Career & Technical Education Center.

Teams of four to six students in grades 9-12 were tested on wildlife, aquatics, forestry, soils/land use, and a current environmental issue.

This year’s current issue is Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.  Students had to develop a theoretical plan for a school district to help reach renewable energy goals and present for a panel of judges to grade.

The overall winners for Niagara County are from Niagara Orleans County Career and Technical Center. They are from Mr. Kaplewicz’s class, and students include Alex Achtziger-Hughes, Samantha Maciejewski, Miles Manns and Alyssa Nagel.

Roy-Hart’s team from Mr. Sweeney’s class won the Aquatics portion, students included Cayla Burch, Mackenzie Diamond, Vanessa Grant, Joshua Kennedy, Clara Wojciechowski and Adam Yanicki.

A second team from Niagara Orleans Career and Technical Center won the Forestry and Wildlife portions. Students included Shane Beaton, Devin Carney, Cole Handrich, Dakota Ward and Ava Vanoni.

The overall county winners will move on to represent their county at the NYS Envirothon later this month at SUNY Cortland.

A special thank you to this year’s event sponsors M&T Bank, NewRoyal Orchards, and the NYS Forest Owners Association – Niagara Frontier Chapter for providing breakfast, lunch, and Envirothon shirts for the students.

Exams and proctoring were provided by the Aquarium of Niagara, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, and both Soil and Water Conservation Districts from Orleans and Niagara counties.

Vic DiGiacomo of the NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee came to discuss future conservation careers and opportunities with students.

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 the Niagara County Soil & Water Conservation District at (716) 434-4949 ext. 4 or email Katherine.pfeifer@ny.nacdnet.net.