Published: May 07, 2008 11:08 am         

19th Annual Envirothon

Allegany County students test knowledge of great outdoors

ROCKY GAP - Showcasing their environmental science knowledge in the great outdoors was great fun for teams of enthusiastic high school students.

"I love being outdoors and I love wildlife," Becky Price, a member of Fort Hill's team No. 4, said as she identified species at the wildlife station, one of five stations at the 19th annual Allegany County Envirothon at the Rocky Gap State Park Campground on Tuesday.

"The nice part is being able to interact with the kids," said Randy Brown of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Service. "It gives them a taste for what we do in the field - they get to see how you can determine the age of a bird with just a feather."

This year, 21 teams of students representing the four high schools in the county competed in the Envirothon.

"This is an opportunity to reconnect young folks with nature - they improve their observation skills," said Allegany County Forestry Board member Francis Zumbrun, who was assisting students at the forestry station.

"We're measuring trees and determining their value," Allegany High School's Wide Niche team member Thomas Krenn said.

Students identified aquatic organisms at the aquatics station.

"We're using a field book to identify species of fish," said Lloyd Williams of the Career Center's Backwoods Boys team.

"We had to determine their genus and species," said Seth Marple of Mountain Ridge's team No. 1.

One of the tasks at the soil station was to determine whether the soil at a particular site was suitable for building a playground.

"We teach them that soil is one of the most important resources we study - they learn how soils are different, their uses and limitations," said Carl Robinette of the Maryland Soil Conservation District.

This year, the task at the special topics station was to analyze recreation's impact on natural resources.

The first-place winner was Allegany High's Page 5 Team, comprised of Anna Dusenbery, Julia Roberts, Yelena Dewald, Sara Rahman and Miriam Smith-Drelich. The team will compete in the state envirothon in July.

"I also work with the state envirothon, and the Allegany County team is always at the top," said Craig Hartsock of the Maryland Soil Conservation District.

The second-place winner was Allegany High School's Amphiuma Team, comprised of Chris Logsdon, Morgan Walbert, Daniel Nelson, Amber Beckman and Hillary Lyons.

The third-place winner was Allegany High's SSSP Team, comprised of Erin Livengood, Will Ruark, Brian Mathews, Lizzie Riggleman and Sierra Hartlaub.

Honorable mention went to Allegany High's The Shins Team, comprised of Danielle Class, Devin McGregor, Dan Levitas, Christina Knieriem and Alex Shin. Environmental science teacher Alan Hammond was the adviser for the four teams.

Contact Jennifer Raley at jraley@times-news.com.