Harford County Teens Take Top Honors at Maryland Envirothon; Carroll, Montgomery take Second, Third

Harford Christian School 2013 Envirothon Team: (From left) Danielle Fiedler, Maddie Feustel, Hunter Howell, Gracie Shannahan, advisor, Ada Stambaugh, and Danielle Reifer.

ANNAPOLIS, MD – A five-member team of high school students from Harford County are the winner of the 23rd annual Maryland Envirothon—an outdoor natural resources competition that challenges students to identify and categorize living resources, perform soil surveys and solve other complex natural resource issues. More than 100 challengers from 17 counties across Maryland took part in this year’s competition. The event was held June 19-20 at the Western Maryland 4-H Education Center in Garrett County.

“It is great to see such a sincere interest in the science side of the environment,” said Secretary Buddy Hance. “With the strong leadership and scientific expertise of these students, the outlook for our natural resources and agricultural industry is indeed very bright.”

As winners of the Maryland Envirothon, Harford Christian School of Harford County team members Hunter Howell, Danielle Fiedler, Gracie Shannahan, Danielle Reifer, and Maddie Feustel will represent the state at the 2013 North American Envirothon, which will be held at Montana State University in Bozeman from August 4-August 9. The students will be accompanied by teacher/advisors Ada Stambaugh and Tim Gerber. More than 50 teams from the United States and Canada are expected to compete at the national event. During the past five years, Maryland teams have consistently placed in the top 10 percent at national competitions.

The Maryland Envirothon is held once a year at an outdoor environmental education center. Students taking part in the competition study Maryland’s natural resources for a year in hopes of winning. Working in teams of five with one to two alternates, students are trained and tested in four natural resource areas including soils, aquatics, forestry and wildlife plus an environmental issue that changes from year to year. This year’s special environmental issue was Sustainable Rangeland Management.

Each team’s knowledge is tested under the supervision of foresters, soil scientists and wildlife specialists. Teamwork and problem solving skills are evaluated as each team. The team with the highest cumulative total wins the competition and the opportunity to represent Maryland at the North American Envirothon.

Governor Martin O’Malley, a strong supporter of environmental literacy for young people, sent a proclamation to each student, advisor, and school participating in the 2013 Maryland Envirothon.

At this year’s competition the Harford County Harford Christian School scored 461 points out of a possible 500. They were followed by teams from Carroll (430 points), and Montgomery (429 points)

Members of the top three teams were awarded scholarships ranging from $200 to $500 through the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board Scholarship program. In addition, winning team members received a wildlife print, Maryland Envirothon shirt and other prizes.

The Carroll County team was the high scorer in the “soils” category of the competition with a score of 90 points out of a possible 100. The Mid-Atlantic Association of Professional Soil Scientists (MAPSS) presented each member of the team with a cash award of $50. In addition, the team received a print and gift cards.

Established in 1990, the objectives of the Maryland Envirothon are twofold—to test students’ environmental knowledge and understanding of state resource issues and to instill a desire to learn more about the natural world. Winning teams compete at the local, state and international levels. The first Envirothon competition was held in Pennsylvania in 1979. Since then more than 30 states, Canada and Australia have embraced the program and sent teams to the international competition.

The Maryland Envirothon is sponsored by the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts and the State Soil Conservation Committee. Contributors and supporters include the Maryland Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environment, the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, Garrett College, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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