Winner of the 2026 Delaware Envirothon for the second year in a row is the Odessa High School FFA and Agriscience Team. Team members
are, left to right, Nate Sutton, Faith Downs, Luke Brown, Zachary Binnie and Keith Schmid School /Delaware DNREC photo

Charter School of Wilmington Teams Take Second and Third
Place in the 30^th Year of the Statewide Environmental Competition

Odessa High School celebrated earning first place for the second straight year in the 2026 Delaware Envirothon Championship today, held at Sussex Academy. Held for its milestone 30th year in the First State, Envirothon is an education competition sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, open to high school students statewide.

This year, nine high schools and one 4-H club set a Delaware Envirothon record in fielding a total of 23 teams. Appoquinimink High School, Charter School of Wilmington, Concord High School, MOT Charter, Newark Charter High School, Odessa High School, Polytech High School, Smyrna High School, Sussex Academy and Peach Blossom 4-H Club fielded teams that worked hard all school year to prepare for the 2026 event.

Each team answered questions, reviewed environmental specimens, and took measurements in topics that involve aquatic ecology, soils/land use, wildlife, forestry and the current environmental issue of “Nonpoint Source Pollution Mitigation.” Teams also were required to give a seven- to 10-minute oral presentation of a scenario based on the current issue.

After more than three hours of testing, the Odessa High School FFA and Agriscience team was crowned the 2026 state champion and will represent Delaware at the 2026 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) International Envirothon to be held in Mississippi from July 19-25.

Each member of the winning team earned a $500 scholarship from the Delaware Envirothon and other prizes, including an award plaque for their school. The second through seventh place teams received ribbons and cash prizes in the form of gift cards.

The official results are as follows:

• First place – Odessa High School – FFA & Agriscience: Nate Sutton, Faith Downs, Luke Brown, Zachary Binnie and Keith Schmid
• Second place – Charter School of Wilmington – Natural Logs: Arya Anilkumar, Jessica Zhang, Raymond Chen, Asvika Gobinathan and Ashley Liu
• Third place – Charter School of Wilmington – Square Roots: Saasthra Bojja, Aishwarya Reddy, Samardh Namburi, Izzy Gorton, Jeshen Kannan and Xinran Zhuo (Alt.)
• Fourth place – Newark Charter School – EcoManiacs: Sudipa Chowdhury, Ella Zhao, Sarah Shankar, Kiyanna Bazzelle and Smrithi Shajeev
• Fifth place – Charter School of Wilmington – Pi-ne Trees: Jonathan Yang, Varsha Lakshmanan, Nancy Huang, Anna Huang and Mia Liu
• Sixth place – MOT Charter – Dragonflies: Akshaya Kartika Thummapuru, Maya Nambiar, Shannon Garcia, Elaine Morris, Aashitha Kanchan Tamballapalli and Pesakh White (Alt.)
• Seventh place – Polytech High School – Mealybugs: Jedeiah Martinez, Elijah Caldwell, Madison McKenzie, Sarah Mercer and Kendall Griffin

The Delaware Envirothon 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.

In addition to DNREC, major sponsors include the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Sussex Conservation District, the Kent Conservation District, and the New Castle Conservation District, along with many other smaller donors.

More information about the annual event can be found at delawareenvirothon.org.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X or LinkedIn.

Media contacts: Alyssa Imprescia, alyssa.imprescia@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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