The Spruce Mountain Envirothon Team finished 20th overall at the National Conservation Foundation International Envirothon held at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York from July 28th - August 3rd.
Envirothon is the world’s largest high school environmental science competition and features field tests in the areas of soil science, aquatic ecology, wildlife biology, and forest management, as well as a yearly current issue, which is “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future” for 2024.
This year’s international competition included teams from most US States and Canadian Provinces, as well as two teams from China and a team from Singapore. The Spruce Mountain team finished 8th in Aquatic Ecology with a score of 97/100 and was 9th in the the current issue oral presentation portion of the competition, where they solved a problem related to developing an overall management plan for a farm that wanted to implement renewable energy sources. Team members included recently graduated seniors Brenden Veilleux and Leah Burgess, as well as rising seniors Lily Fortier, Hannah Dube, and Natalie Furka. Team Advisors Ken Baker, Rob Taylor and Amy Poland also attended the event and supported the team.
According to advisor Rob Taylor, “The team has been meeting to prepare to compete for 3-4 hours per week since they won the Maine Envirothon on May 31st, as well as studying on their own. I am very proud of the kids CI Oral Presentation score. This is the part of the event where the students have to work together, do real world problem solving, and really apply what they know. When we watched the top 3 team's final presentations on the last day and they were impressive, but our Maine kids showed they were right there with them. Nearly all of the judges' scores on the rubric were in the "Excellent" or "Outstanding" categories for each of the 20 criteria scored.” The students presented a plan that featured adding maple syrup operations with a reverse osmosis evaporator, rotational grazing with protected riparian areas near a stream to protect water quality, and rooftop solar and low penetration wind energy systems to help the farm meet New York’s energy goal of 75% renewable local power. “The team utilized energy calculations and an in depth understanding of the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve model to do a cost benefit analysis of their proposals to determine what should be added to their plan”, added Taylor. A recording of the team's presentation can be seen at: https://tinyurl.com/8pmmufpw.
The Spruce Mountain team’s scores for the competition were: Wildlife - 65/100 - 35th, Soils - 56/100 - 30th, CI Test - 63/100 - 26th, Forestry - 75/100 - 21st, Aquatics - 97/100 - Tied for 8th, Oral Presentation - 166.33/200 - 9th, Overall - 522.33/700 (75%) - 20th in the World. The top 3 teams were Tennessee who was first with a score of 623.67, New York who was second with a score of 608, and Maryland who was third with a score of 593. The scores for all teams can be seen at: https://tinyurl.com/5n8j2aaa.
The tests in Forestry, Soils, Aquatics, and Wildlife are all field based tests, with students doing things such as analyzing an 8 foot deep soil pit, using map and compass, and identifying trees, aquatic life and wildlife. “During the last round of testing, a nasty rainstorm hit.” said Taylor. “The team happened to be at the soils station and had to work through what mother nature sent their way. The test papers got soaked and they had to get a fresh copy and redo answers. Envirothon is an outdoor event and the students really get a taste of what the job of an outdoor resource professional is really all about! You need to enjoy being outside.” A number of the students on the team are considering careers in environmental science fields and Leah Burgess will major in Environmental Engineering at the University of New Hampshire next year.
The team broke up the long drive to Geneva, New York with a stop in Saratoga Springs, where they visited the Saratoga County Fair and were able to learn more about agriculture and resource management in New York, as well as watching the monster truck pulling competition. They also visited the Gagondagon State Historic Site and attended the annual Indigenous Music and Arts Festival with the team from New Mexico. They visited a replica Haudenosaunee long house, learned about the lives and culture of the Seneca Nation of the Haudenosaunee, and then were able to integrate what they learned into their current issue presentation. According to Brenden Veilleux in the team’s presentation, “It is important to note that this land once belonged to the Haudenosaunee people. Their many practices, including the 7th generation rule, teaches us about sustainability and health of our environment.” Teammate Natalie Furka added, “The Haudenosaunee believed in managing resources for 7 generations into the future. At the rate we are consuming fossil fuels, they will not last 7 generations.”
Leah Burgess explained the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve, a tool for examining the cost effectiveness of energy technologies and their climate change abatement potential. Burgess said, “We can compare our costs and abatement potential of the renewable energies we are proposing for your property, low penetration wind and solar. … Their abatement potentials are about the same and moderately priced. They will pay themselves off in 5-7 years.” Lily fortier added, “You must be continuously aware of the effects of invasive species on your property. … We recommend placing traps for Emerald Ash Borer and Spotted Lantern Flies, which kill fruit trees.” Hannah Dube spoke about how their plan would protect the stream on the property, saying, “We chose to move your cattle grazing operation to the southeastern section of your property. This was done to protect Stony Creek and its riparian buffer zone. … Stony Creek is a Class C stream protected by the Environmental Conservation
Law.” The team created a PowerPoint presentation to augment their presentation and benefited from prior training on PowerPoint provided by Amy Poland.
The Spruce Mountain Envirothon Team would like to thank the many businesses, individuals, and community members that made the trip to New York possible with donations of funding and expertise. “This is an excellent program and keeps the kids working all week. They get so much out of it and it would not be possible without a community that stands behind the kids and makes sure they can go. It was an incredible experience for this group of intelligent and mature students and we appreciate the community's support,” said advisor Ken Baker.