The student winners of the annual New York State Envirothon Competition, which recently took place at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, have been announced. The team from The Mount Academy in Ulster County was named New York State Champions at the long-standing hands-on environmental competition, which challenges students on their knowledge of natural resource science, public speaking, and civic engagement. Skaneateles High School from Onondaga County and Hudson High School in Columbia County were awarded second place and Schuylerville High School was awarded third place.
The Envirothon Competition is a series of field station tests in the areas of soil/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and an emerging environmental issue. The 2023 environmental issue focused on adapting to climate change. Forty-two teams from across New York State competed in environmental science and natural resource management written and oral tests during the two-day competition. The teams, made up of five students from 9th to 12th grades, qualified at the regional or local level and received invitations to the state competition.
The student team from The Mount Academy will once again head to the international NCF-Envirothon to represent New York State this summer at Mount Allison University Tantramar (Sackville)* in New Brunswick, Canada from July 23 through July 29. Each member of the team received a scholarship, and the team will compete against other top teams from the United States and Canada.
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said, “The annual New York State Envirothon Competition is a critical part of environmental and agricultural education in our state. With the impacts of climate change becoming ever more real, it has never been more inspiring to see these passionate young people preparing to be ambassadors for the environment and our state’s natural resources in years to come. I send my congratulations to the Ulster County winning team and all of the participating students on their successes at this year’s competition.”
