Spartanburg Team Places in Top 20 at the North American Canon Envirothon Competition
Left to right: Rob Wilder (advisor), Marquan Jones,
William Weir, Philip Chambers, David Stevens,
Hazel Lever, Vaughn Vick (advisor).
The five member team of high school students from Spartanburg, who won 1st place at the state-level competition in May, came in 17th place at the Canon Envirothon competition held at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Along with 51 other teams from the US and Canada, the Spartanburg team competed in the areas of aquatics, biodiversity, forestry, soils, wildlife and oral presentation in the event held from August 2nd-8th.
Advisors Vaughn Vick (teaching AP Chemistry) and Rob Wilder (teaching AP Environmental Science) from Spartanburg High School, coached these students through the test areas and the materials that needed to be covered. If you’d ask them though, they’d tell you that the students did all the work.
The week of testing culminated in the presentation of the team’s recommendation to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners of where to place a new civic center; at the existing site, on a new site on the top of Beaucatcher Mountain, or at an alternate site to be proposed by the team. Posing as an independent, environmental consulting firm, the team presented their environmental impact studies and recommendation to a board of five local natural resource experts who formed the judging panel (the Buncombe County Board).
"It was inspiring to see the students weave together all the information they acquired from each of the test stations.” stated Joy Sullivan, SC Envirothon Coordinator with the SC Department of Natural Resources. “It takes maturity and a certain comfort with all the technical information to pull off a well-rounded presentation, and the students did a great job!”
The SC Envirothon program has been in the state since 1997, offering scholarships to the top three teams, and an opportunity for all participants to learn more about our natural world, and the sometimes conflicting issues that arise with its management and use.
Photographs of 2009 SC Envirothon
A special 'Thank You" is extended to Amy Maxwell and Sabrenna Bryant -USDA, Kimberly Arrington - Sumter Conservation District, and Lori Smith - Sumter School District Two for their skills in capturing some of the candid moments of the Envirothon!