SHERBURNE – Students from across four counties are gathering today at Rogers Conservation Center in Sherburne for a hands-on learning event that tests their knowledge in five different environmental subjects: Aquatics, forestry, wildlife, soils and land use, and current environmental issues.
It’s day two of the Central New York Regional Envirothon, sponsored locally by the Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District.
High school students from Cayuga, Chenango, Madison and Onondaga Counties – organized in teams of five members each – will compete to win prizes, college scholarships and a chance to attend the state level Envirothon, held at Hobart William Smith College in Penn Yan in May.
Yesterday’s Envirothon at Rogers saw more than 100 students from nine school districts – each team of students worked together to solve 25 problems in each of the five different stations located on different nature trails. At the end of the day, one team from each participating county that performed best in all five categories was selected to move on to the state competition. More teams from 12 other school districts will compete for the same opportunity today.
“This is a more hands-on approach than the traditional school setting,” said Regional Envirothon Coordinator Jennifer Burcroff, who has worked with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of each regional county to organize the event. “Students have fun here and that’s what we strive for because if kids are having fun, they’re learning.”
Envirothon volunteers from each county’s Soil and Water Conservation District worked closely with professionals to develop problems and test questions for students to answer.
Students who move on to the state competition will be vying for a spot in this year’s National Envirothon, which will be held in Pennsylvania. The National Envirothon is a seven-day event that allows students to explore national landmarks, attend environmental learning seminars and compete for a partial scholarship to a college of their choice.
This is the first year Rogers Center has hosted Envirothon since the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation closed the education center in 2010, leaving Rogers Coordinator Cara Sefchick and a board of voluntary members responsible for funding the center and keeping the doors open.
“We’re very excited that Envirothon is back here,” Sefchick said. “It’s a great program and a natural fit for Rogers Center.”