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Winning Comes Naturally
Friday, May 26, 2006
By Fred A. Mohr
Staff writer
Evangeline Rauch and Janel Sullivan slapped hands as the answers to a written quiz
on global warming and climate change were read Thursday.
"Got that one," said Rauch, a junior at G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton.
Instead of a stuffy classroom, the two were sitting under a tent at Rice Creek Field Station with Edward Hogan,
Rachel Higgins and Shannon Hogan, all members of Fulton's Envirothon team.
The Fulton team represented Oswego County for the third straight year in
the 17th annual state Envirothon, held Wednesday and Thursday at the State University College at Oswego.
"It's an outdoor, hands-on, more fun environmental competition for high school kids," said Seth Dennis,
chairman of the State Envirothon Committee. "It gives them experience and maybe will spark some interest in
(pursuing careers in) the environment."
After qualifying at the county level, 51 five-member teams competed in a series of hands-on and written tests in
five areas: forestry, aquatic ecology, wildlife, soils and a current issue. In addition, the teams were judged
Wednesday on 10-minute oral presentations targeting water issues in the Great Lakes.
Five stations tested students' hands-on research and observational skills. The soils station, for instance, required
students to take measurements and make observations in a 4-by-10-by-4-foot forest pit and take slope measurements
using a special tool.
Rebecca Schneider, a natural resources teacher at Cornell University overseeing the aquatics station, ticked off
a long list of topics, including watershed characteristics, topography, types of aquatic invertebrates and water
quality.
She said the Envirothon measures competitors' breadth of knowledge of the natural world.
"It's not just this topic; they have to know soils, wildlife, forestry and a current issue," she said.
"It's pretty intensive training, and the kids are good. They know their stuff."
Sullivan, a sophomore at G. Ray Bodley, was an alternate on last year's team. She said teamwork and the oral presentation
provided valuable experience toward her goal of becoming a teacher.
"I think I've learned a lot about different forms of the environment," she said. "The public speaking
and working in groups with people was really good."
The event is sponsored by county soil and water conservation districts, as well as other municipal and private
supporters.
Fred A. Mohr can be reached at fmohr@syracuse.com or 470-3238.
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