Northampton County high school teams compete in Envirothon for chance at state representation | Homepage Top Stories

Putting environmental science knowledge to the test.

Twelve high school teams from Northampton County competed for the chance to represent the county on the state level.

“We have shared natural resources everyone cares about and youth have an interest in conservation practices, and things like that. So, the Envirothon is a statewide competition, students that compete here will get awards for today, but the first-place team will move to the state level,” said Nate Pritchard, District Manager Northampton County Conservation District.

It was the 29th year for the Northampton County Envirothon.

“It’s kind of like mathletes but for the environment. Students are tested in five different areas. It’s a written test and we do score based on 100 and whoever scores the highest goes from our county to the state competition,” said Paige Strasko the Watershed Specialist for the Northampton County Conservation District.

Areas of competition include aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a current issue topic. This year’s topic is source pollution and how it impacts water quality and environmental health.

“We are able to have them dig a soil pit. They’re able to get down in there and dirty in the competition,” said Pritchard.

“We’ve been working pretty hard for the last couple of weeks around the classroom and outside collecting soil,” said students competing in today’s competition.

The goal is to apply knowledge and raise awareness for conservations effort in the county.

Organizers say that in addition to their knowledge the competition tests their teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

“They get some real-life application to what they learn in the classroom and also get to interact with some of our partner agencies,” said Strasko.

The winning team, Saucon Valley High School, will go to the Pennsylvania Envirothon competition in May.

Last year’s team from Northampton County saw success placing 6th at the state level.

Bangor Team Maroon placed in second, while Bangor Team White placed in third.