Fifty students, eight advisors, and dozens of volunteers from across the state came together on Tuesday, May 17 in Ellensburg for the 2022 Washington State Envirothon competition. Hosted by Palouse Conservation District and with the support of King Conservation District, Pierce Conservation District, and other conservation districts throughout the state, the Washington State Envirothon was held in person for the first time in three years.
Envirothon is a unique opportunity for high school students to gain problem-solving, public speaking, critical thinking, and leadership skills all while learning more about conservation and environmental topics and careers. At the State competition, teams transitioned through four different testing stations-aquatics, forestry, soils, land use, and wildlife. At these test stations, teams worked together to complete challenges such as identifying animal hide, measuring the width of trees, calculating a stream quality assessment from a sample of macroinvertebrates, or measuring the texture of a soil sample.
Ahead of the competition, teams prepared a 10-minute presentation responding to a real-life scenario based on the 2022 current issue, Waste to Resources. Teams were asked present potential solutions and strategies to expand domestic and international plastic recycling markets, reduce contamination in existing recycling streams, and increase Washington’s plastic recycling rate. During the competition, teams delivered their presentation and proposed solutions in front of a panel of judges in the natural resource and waste management field.
Okanogan High School placed first and will represent Washington State at the 2022 National Envirothon competition held in Ohio on July 24- 30, 2022. Congratulations to all the teams who participated in Regional and State competitions this year, and a special shoutout to Foster High School for representing King County at the 2022 Washington State Competition.
Rosie joined KCD in October as the Education Events and Technology Specialist serving through the Washington Service Corps.