A six-member team from Lord Botetourt High School won the Mountain Castles Soil & Water Conservation District (MCSWCD) Envirothon last Thursday morning at Fenwick Mines Recreation Area near New Castle.

Jack Buchanan, Ashlyn Wolfe, Claire Seibel, Brian Watts, Matthew Henninger and Jake McNutt will represent the school at the Area I Envirothon competition May 2 at the Cyrus McCormick Farm at Steeles Tavern in Rockbridge County.

The LBHS #1 Team placed first in the district high school competition ahead of second place Craig County High School #2 and third place James River High School #2. The JRHS #2 team of Andrew Newcomb, Ainsley Simmons, Ellie Holter and Jacob Fowler also qualified to compete in the area competition. The top three high school teams from each SWCD competition qualify for the May 2 area competition. The MCSWCD includes Botetourt and Craig Counties.

There were five high school teams in the district competition. Nine middle school teams from Read Mountain Middle School and Central Academy Middles School also took part in the Envirothon, but only high school teams move on to the area competition.

The Read Mountain Middle School team that included Davis Cooper, Evan Gates, Caleb Franklin, Alek Goodman, Nicole Amosa and Phillip Waff won  the middle school competition.

Six Soil and Water Conservation Districts make up Area I and those districts includes the counties and cities of includes Rockbridge, Lexington, Buena Vista, Rockingham, Page, Harrisonburg, Warren, Shenandoah, Clarke, Frederick, Bath, Alleghany, Highland, Covington, Botetourt, Craig, Augusta, Staunton and Waynesboro.

The top three teams in each of the six area competitions qualify for the May 20-21 state competition at Ferrum College in Rocky Mount.

Envirothon consists of five “in-the-field” test stations – soils, wildlife, aquatics, forestry and a current environmental issue – where teams answer questions in both written and hands-on formats. During an oral presentation at the area and state competitions, teams brief their solution to the current environmental issue before industry and natural resource professionals who serve as judges. The issue for the 2018 Envirothon is “Pastureland Management.”

Students work in teams and are encouraged to work throughout the school year to prepare to compete at the local district level to qualify to compete at the area level. Up to five students are allowed on a team for the area and state competitions.

While the Envirothon events are competitive, education is the bottom line.

A $50,000 annual grant has made Dominion Resources the primary state sponsor for the program throughout Virginia.

Envirothon is run by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD) and Virginia’s 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Individuals interested in volunteering or learning more about starting an Envirothon team at their high school, 4-H, FFA, Ecology club or home school group should contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District or the VASWCD at (804) 559-0324.