The Northampton County Conservation District (NCCD) held its 27th annual Envirothon competition at Louise Moore Park in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth Townships today, April 20, 2023. The Envirothon is an environmental competition for students in grades 9 through 12.

This year, seven schools competed with twelve teams from Bangor Area High School, Freedom High School, Nazareth Area High School, Northampton Area High School, Pen Argyl Area High School, Saucon Valley High School, and Moravian Academy.

A team consists of five students and an advisor. Students were tested in five areas: Wildlife, Forestry, Soils and Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, and a current environmental issue. This year’s topic was Adapting to a Changing Climate. At the competition, the teams rotated through five stations taking written tests with some hands-on applications.

Bangor Area High School Team Maroon – Abigail Duyssen, Logan Rusche, Matt Vidal, Blythe Kratzer, and Annabelle Gormont – had the highest cumulative score and was the 1st place winner. Bangor Area High School Team White placed second, and Saucon Valley High School placed third.

The event was sponsored by the NCCD; Northampton County Division of Parks & Recreation; The Pidcock Company; J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc.; Joe Correia; Commerce Construction Co., L.P.; Majestic Realty Co.; Ott Consulting, Inc.; Chrin of Delaware, Inc.; Serfass Construction Co.; Pennsylvania American Water; Schlouch, Inc.; Hanover Engineering Associates, Inc.; Keystone Consulting Engineers, Inc. and Wegman’s Grocery Store. The Conservation District receives assistance from the following agencies who are responsible for preparing, administering, and correcting the tests: PA Game Commission, PA DCNR – Bureau of Forestry, PA Fish & Boat Commission, and Penn State Extension. Volunteers from the Northampton County Conservation District, Farmland Preservation, Majestic Realty Co., and Commerce Construction Company, LLC, also assisted.

Following the competition, Jeff Mucklin from Nurture Nature Center provided a presentation for the students.

Plaques, medallions, and gift cards were awarded to the top three scoring teams. Jeffrey Keifer, Chairman, and John Mauser, Director of the NCCD Board of Directors, presented the awards.

In memory of our late manager, Chryss Buchman, the District also presented the ‘Chryss Buchman Memorial Current Issue Award’ to Moravian Academy’s Team Red for having scored the highest at the Current Issue Station that did not place. The team was awarded a framed certificate and a gift card to purchase items for their Envirothon library. The advisor and each team member received a Regal Cinemas gift card.

In memory of the services of long-time District Board member and Chairman Bob Jones, the District also presented the ‘Robert H. Jones Memorial Soils & Land Use Award’ to Freedom High School’s Team Black for having scored the highest without placing at the Soils & Land Use Station. The team was awarded a framed certificate and a gift card to purchase items for their Envirothon library. The advisor and each team member received an NCCD hat. Resources and gifts from the Cooperating Agencies were also presented as station awards to teams scoring the highest at the Aquatics (Pen Argyl Green Knights), Wildlife (Freedom Gold), and Forestry (Freedom Gold) stations. Annual Envirothon t-shirts and NCCD mugs were also provided to everyone who participated.

Bangor Area High School’s Team Maroon will advance to the State competition. The State competition will be held in two parts. A virtual segment consisting of the students presenting a 12-minute video followed by an 8-minute Q&A session will be scheduled for one of four days from May 17 – 19, 2023. The in-person station testing segment will be held at Camp Mt. Luther, Mifflinburg, PA, on May 24, 2023. Bangor Maroon won the county event last year and placed 4th at the State competition; good luck Bangor Maroon!