Dover — Charter School of Wilmington Team A won the 2017 Delaware Envirothon competition held April 27 at University of Delaware’s Webb Farm in Newark, marking the school’s 18th win in the event’s 22-year history, including an unbroken winning streak since 2002. Middletown FFA finished second and Charter School of Wilmington Team B placed third. The Envirothon is sponsored by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts.

The 21 competing Envirothon teams worked hard all school year to prepare for the event. Each team identified samples, took measurements and answered questions on topics dealing with aquatic ecology, soils/land-use, wildlife, forestry, air quality and the current environmental issue of agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship. Teams also had to give a seven- to 10-minute oral presentation on a scenario utilizing the nine steps of conservation planning to identify resource concerns and best management practices of a cropland and poultry farming operation. After more than three hours of testing, Charter School of Wilmington Team A was crowned the 2017 state champion, continuing the school’s remarkable run of success in the Envirothon.

Each member of the winning team earned a $500 scholarship from the Delaware Envirothon, a $100 gift card and other prizes. The winning team will also receive an award plaque for their school and will represent Delaware at the National Conservation Foundation North American Envirothon at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmittsburg, Maryland at the end of July. The second, third and fourth place teams received more than $1,670 in special team awards and cash prizes.

Prizes in the form of gift cards and ribbons were awarded to the top seven teams. The official Envirothon results were:

• First place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team A – Siddharth Gangrade, Catherine Yu, Connor Sweeney, Allen Wang, and Ashley Pennington. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg Darone
• Second place: Middletown High School FFA – William Nylander, Ariana Gaston, Joshua Housler, Timothy Mulderrig, and Sara Collins. Team advisor: Jeff Billings
• Third place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team B – Adraitha Anne, AJ Yuan, John Garcia, Elan Tran and Pooja Kaji. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg DaroneFourth place: Peach Blossom 4-H Club – Oliver Menard, Lida Gannon, Reese Yost, Leslie Webb, Maci Carter, Drew Harris (alternate) and Adam Collier (alternate). Team advisor: Elaine Webb
• Fifth place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team C – Nicole Flowerhill, Tara Lennon, Eddie Huang, Priyanka Hoskere, and Harshitha Henry. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg Darone
• Sixth place: A.I. DuPont High School, Team Clean Coal – Jan Castro, Mackenzie Crossley, Bethany DeGrotto, Julia Szymanski, Rachel Widom, Alicia Chen (alternate) and Sophie Girke (alternative). Team advisor: Amy Huebner
• Seventh place: MOT Charter, Mustangs Team A – Viktoria Brown, Shannon Hanggodo, Vishnusundar Somasundaram, Shachi Shah, Jalen Williams. Team advisor: Michelle Guenther

Since its inception, the Delaware Envirothon has awarded $55,000 in scholarships to 110 students. It is hosted by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD), a voluntary, non-profit association that coordinates conservation efforts statewide to focus on natural resource issues identified by Delaware’s three local districts.

For more information about the Delaware Envirothon, please visit delawareenvirothon.org or contact Rick Mickowski at 302-832-3100 ext. 8979.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 91

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