Envirothon state champions headed for international competition

Piscataquis Community Secondary School’s team placed first in the Maine Envirothon Championships.

Thanks to Piscataquis Community Secondary School for sharing this information with the Maine DOE for publication.

GUILFORD – Five students from Piscataquis Community Secondary School, led by biology teacher Heather Doherty, captured top honors at the Maine Envirothon Championships on May 23 at Bowdoin College.

The initial Envirothon pool included 61 teams from across the state. The PCSS Envirothon team included Jeremy Bell, Emily Northup, Ben Maines, Rebecca Grant and Logan Sargent. Grant and Sargent are four-year veterans.

The Maine Envirothon is a “hands-on” natural resources competition program sponsored by the Maine Association of Conservation Districts. Regional and state competitions test student knowledge on wildlife, aquatics, soils, forestry and a current issue. This year the current issue was “Sustainable Forestland Management: Achieving Balance with Forest Products, Environmental Concerns, Traditional Recreation, Tourism and Increased Developmental Pressure.”

Envirothon is Maine’s largest high school environmental education program and is part of an international program representing over 500,000 high school students throughout the U.S. and Canada. Every participating student gets the opportunity to interact with state soil scientists, biologists, foresters and other natural resource professionals.

Maine Envirothon participants are eligible for several scholarships. PCSS’s Rebecca Grant was awarded the MACD Envirothon scholarship to the University of Maine in the amount of $2,000.

On the way to the title, PCSS received the highest score on the soils component in the history of the event in Maine. In addition to placing first in soils, the team also placed first in forestry and aquatics. Mt. Ararat High School of Topsham received second-place honors, and Spruce Mountain High School of Jay/Livermore Falls finished third.

The first-place PCSS team will represent Maine at the North American Canon Envirothon at Montana State University from August 4–10. The team is active in fundraising for the trip. Businesses, organizations or individuals wishing to help may send proceeds to “Envirothon,” Piscataquis Community Secondary School, 9 Campus Drive, Guilford, ME 04443.