Envirothon is a competition for high school students that focuses on problem-solving across multiple environmental categories, including aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, soil and land use, and current environmental issues. With roots dating back to the late 1970s, the competition takes place across the United States, Canada, China, and Singapore. Students can compete at regional, state, national, and even international levels.

The competition includes written tests in each environmental category, created by natural resource professionals. To succeed, students must understand local ecosystems, use field equipment, and work with both imperial and metric measurement systems. In addition, teams must give an oral presentation on an environmental issue, which is a major part of their overall score.

Students from Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts recently competed in the Northeast Florida regional Envirothon competition and delivered an impressive performance. Out of five teams from the school, three earned top placements.

Team Shark—made up of Christina Andreoni, Kymber Adams, Teyanna McRae, Karla Vega, and Jenny Wang—won in the aquatics division. Team Octonauts, consisting of Amayah Johnson, Divine Johnson-Sullivan, Isabella Mayifuila, Ashanti Jones, and Shruthi Karthik, also placed among the top teams. Team Busy Bees—Hayley Phan, Le Le, Halim Gumus, Natalie Avramescu, and Jeth Soldivillo—won first place overall, earning a trip to the state competition.

This marks a major achievement for the program, which has been competing in Envirothon for over five years. It is the first time the school has won under sponsor Michelle McGurr, who said it will “not be the last.”

Students will next compete at the state level on April 11 at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

Students interested in competing in Envirothon next year must join Bio Club, which is sponsored by Ms. McGurr and run by students. The club meets twice a month, allowing members to work on projects of their choosing. New members can join during the membership drive, which is expected to take place during the first month of the next school year.

For more information about Envirothon please go to https://www.flenvirothon.com/ and https://envirothon.org/