2011 North Carolina Envirothon Annual Report

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1 2011 North Carolina Envirothon Annual Report

2 2011 North Carolina Envirothon Annual Report Page 2 NC Envirothon "A Natural Challenge says it all. The Envirothon is a fun, hands-on, natural science academic event that engages and challenges students to think critically about the natural world and their role in it. The Envirothon combines in-class studies with outdoor training to help students learn and experience more about soils and land use, forestry, aquatic ecology, wildlife/habitat and current environmental issues. The year-long curriculum emphasizes teamwork and higher order thinking skills such as analysis and interpretation, and now includes an oral component for high school students to help develop assessment and communication skills. For more information, please check out the NC Envirothon on the web at Mission Statement Provide and promote leadership in the knowledge of natural resources by offering a quality education program in: soils/land use, forestry, aquatic ecology, wildlife/habitat and current issues to the teachers, students and citizens of North Carolina. Vision That all students have a basic, scientific knowledge of natural resources to help them become environmentally aware citizens who are able to make good decisions as adults. Committee Members John Peeler Chair Rich Hayes Vice Chair Steve Bennett Program Coordinator Sandra Weitzel Middle School Coordinator Ralston James Division SWC Cindy Draughon Division SWC Pam Stroupe Association SWCD Stuart Lee NRCS Representative Jennifer Brooks NCCDEA Representative Phil Ross Host County Representative Jason Davis FFA Representative Leanna Staton Area 1 Representative Gail Heathman Area 1 Representative Linda Hash Area 2 Representative Pat Martin Area 2 Representative Millie Langley Area 3 Representative Gail Hughes Area 3 Representative Charles Bass Area 4 Representative Susan Woodard Area 4 Representative Bryan Evans Area 5 Representative Janet Stallings Area 5 Representative Pam Hawkins Area 6 Representative Mamie Caison Area 6 Representative Joanna McPhatter Area 7 Representative Kay Bullard Area 7 Representative Andy Miller Area 8 Representative Dennis Testerman Area 8 Representative

3 Page NC Envirothon Competition The 2011 NC Envirothon was held on April 29-30, 2011 at Cedarock Park in Burlington, NC. The 21st annual event saw 49 high school teams and 53 middle school teams competing for the 1st place trophy in the middle school and high school divisions. Beautiful weather was had on both days of the competition. A small army of volunteers was recruited to pull off an event of this size and they pulled together the 2 day event without a hiccup. After 2 days of training and testing 2 teams came away with the 1st place medals. The first place middle school team is the Bodacious Baboons from McGee s Crossroads Middle School in Johnston County. The top high school FFA team is the DC Endemic home school team from Davidson County. They will represent NC at the FFA natural resources competition in October. The first place high school team is the Sequoias from West Johnston High School in Johnston County. They will represent NC at the Canon Envirothon competition. For a great video with highlights of the 2 day event, please visit Thanks to Donnarie Hales for putting it together. Message from the NC Envirothon Program Coordinator The Envirothon in North Carolina is twenty-one years old. We have come a long way since that first Envirothon with just five teams participating. Currently over 300 teams across the state compete in the eight area Envirothon competitions. It is exciting to know that some of the teachers who are team advisors now participated in our Envirothon as students! We continue to hear from some past Envirothon students about how the Envirothon has changed their life goals and directed them to an environmental science field of study/work. This is good. This is one of the reasons we started the Envirothon in Melody Lineberger has had two NCSU Parks Scholars from her Envirothon team in three years. I am sure that there are many more good tales of accomplishments from Envirothon students. We like to hear these comments, because it not only helps us with fund raising to be able to show accomplishments, but it reminds us why we do this program. The NC Envirothon Committee continues to try to improve the Envirothon by adding new parts and resources. The Oral Presentation this year was a new addition. Last year it was optional to do, this year it was required of the high school teams. We have also partnered with the Museum of Natural Sciences to do Envirothon videos which teams can view on the Envirothon subjects. So far we have: an aquatics, a soil and a wildlife video. We have also started an advanced Envirothon summer workshop for advisors. We always welcome suggestions from advisors. Steve Bennett NC Envirothon Program Coordinator

4 2011 North Carolina Envirothon Annual Report Page 4 The Road to the NC Envirothon.Area Envirothon competitions across NC! Teams have a long road to travel before making it to the NC Envirothon competition at the end of April each year. Teams are training, studying and learning all through fall, winter and early spring. In order to compete at the state level competition, teams must first qualify at their local area level event. There are 8 Soil and Water Areas in NC, so that means 8 qualification events that are organized and put on across NC in March and early April before the big state event. Each area level competition will send their top 7 middle school and top 7 high school teams, as well as their top FFA team, to the NC Envirothon. Below are some highlights from the 8 Area events, including the total number of middle and high school teams to compete at each one. Area 1 March 18, Middle School teams 20 High School teams Area 2 36 Middle School teams 12 High School teams Area 3 March 24, Middle School teams 16 High School teams Area 4 March 25, Middle School teams 33 High School teams Area 5 16 Middle School teams 25 High School teams Area 6 4 Middle School teams 9 High School teams Area 7 5 Middle School teams 24 High School teams Area 8 22 Middle School teams 26 High School teams

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6 2011 NC Envirothon Annual Report Page 6 Oral Presentations...A Big Success! 2011 ushered in a big change for the North Carolina Envirothon. For the first time ever, all teams were required to make oral presentations as part of the contest. This new part of the competition also counted towards the overall contest winner. With only 65 minutes to create a team presentation, teams worked hard to solve the problem, decide how to divide the presentation equally between team members, and to prepare visual aids. Immediately following the oral presentation preparation station the teams went before a panel of 5 judges to make their presentations. This year s problem dealt with a fish kill and the decline of the local shell fishing industry. To successfully answer the problem, teams needed to primarily draw upon their knowledge of the Aquatic Ecology Resources material as well as many of the Current Environmental Issues articles that were provided for this year s contest. Despite the newness of the oral presentation part of the competition everything went smoothly. The teams performed admirably during this inaugural year and are to be commended for their hard work. The contest was also well served by a knowledgeable panel of judges and numerous hard working volunteers who ensured that this year s contest was a great success! As always the North Carolina Envirothon strives to conduct the best contest we can. We welcome all input as to how we can improve the contest in future years. Please contact us with your suggestions. Rich Hayes NC Envirothon Vice-Chair

7 Page NC ENVIROTHON winning teams TOP TEN MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS Bodacious Baboons McGee s Crossroads Middle School Johnston County DC Awesome Opossums Davidson County Home School Davidson County Awesome Possums McGee s Crossroads Middle School Johnston County The Octopi H.O.M.E. Cumberland County Organic Waste Home School Wilson County Radioactive Crocators Woods Charter School Chatham County Green Mountain Boys Home School Buncombe County Green Hornets Home School Wilson County Triple P Llamas Cannon School Cabarrus County Lead Poisoning Pitt Homeschoolers Pitt County TOP TEN HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS Sequoias West Johnston High School Johnston County Anti-Derivatives Bartlett Yancey High School Caswell County FFA DC Endemic Davidson County Home School Davidson County Sub-Chronic Exposure Enloe High School Wake County Natural Disasters Durham 4-H Envirothon Durham County BY Gold Bartlett Yancey High School Caswell County Five Musketeers Durham 4-H Envirothon Durham County Glow Worms Wilson Home School Wilson County Quaking Aspens West Johnston High School Johnston County Brevard Blue Ghosts Brevard High School Transylvania County 1st Place High School team, the Sequoias 1st Place Middle School team, the Bodacious Baboons

8 2011 NC Envirothon Annual Report Page 8 NC Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Division of Soil & Water Conservation Dept Natural & Environmental Resources Department of Soil Science-NCSU Soil Science Society of NC Hugh Hammond Bennett Chapter of Soil & Water Conservation Society NC Electric Membership Cooperation Progress Energy Syngenta Thank You to all our Sponsors! Canon Corporation NC Peanut Growers Association Alamance County Parks and Recreation NC Wildlife Resources Commission NC Museum of Natural Sciences NC Division of State Parks NC Division of Water Resources NC Division of Water Quality NC Division of Forest Resources USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service US Army Corps of Engineers John Crutchfield, Progress Energy Kelly Hoke, NC Division of State Parks Keith Walters, NC Division of Forest Resources Steve McElhane, NC Division of Forest Resources Channa Witanachchi, NC Division of Soil & Water Davis Clapp, NRCS (Retired) Connie Adams, Foothills Soil Consulting John Isenhour, NC Wildlife Resources Commission Tom Shepherd, Naturalist Piedmont En. Center Carmen Boyette, US Army Corps of Engineers Tara Arnette, US Army Corps of Engineers Thank You to all our Resource Specialists Fred Tarver, NC Div. Water Resources Holly Denham, NC Div. Water Resources Kelley Thompson, Haw River State Park Bob Davies, Haw River State Park Keith Walters, NC Div. Forest Resources Susan Fay, NC Div. Forest Resources Paul Kalish, NC Div. Forest Resources Vincent Lewis, NC Div. of Soil & Water Conservation Vincent Campbell, NC Div. of Soil & Water Conservation Jim Beeson, Piedmont Environmental Associates Thank You to all our Volunteers! The NC Envirothon would especially like to thank the numerous volunteers who helped us during the NC Envirothon year. Without your support and contributions this program and event could not have be possible. We look forward to seeing everyone next year!