Three teams from Algoma schools compete in provincial environmental competition

Forty-nine students from five Algoma District School Board schools recently participated in Algoma Regional Envirothon 2024

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1 / 1 On Friday and Saturday, May 10th and 11th, 49 students from 5 Algoma District School Board schools participated in Algoma Regional Envirothon 2024, at Stokely Creek LodgeImage supplied by Algoma District School Board

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Forty-nine students from five Algoma District School Board (ADSB) schools recently participated in Algoma Regional Envirothon 2024.

The event took place on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 at Stokely Creek Lodge.

“Envirothon is an international competition that teaches youth about the environment, ignites a lifelong passion for conservation and stewardship, fosters leadership and teamwork skills, and gives exposure to careers in a variety of environmental fields,” explained the school board in a news release.

The top three teams from ADSB schools – Elliot Lake Secondary School, Central Algoma Secondary School, and Superior Heights C&VS – will now move on to the Provincial Envirothon which is taking place May 26-29 at the University of Waterloo.

Find the full ADSB news release, including results, below:

On Friday and Saturday, May 10^th and 11^th, 49 students from 5 Algoma District School Board (ADSB) schools participated in Algoma Regional Envirothon 2024, at Stokely Creek Lodge, coordinated by the Algoma Highlands Conservancy. Eight staff accompanied students from five schools and seventeen volunteers from a wide variety of community partners made the event possible.

Three teams have qualified for Provincials: Elliot Lake Secondary School, Central Algoma Secondary School, and Superior Heights C&VS, who placed first, second and third respectively. These three teams will travel to the Provincial Envirothon which is taking place May 26-29, 2024 at the University of Waterloo. Internationals, should an ADSB team qualify, are in New York this summer.

Envirothon is an international competition that teaches youth about the environment, ignites a lifelong passion for conservation and stewardship, fosters leadership and teamwork skills, and gives exposure to careers in a variety of environmental fields. The Algoma Region will mark its 30th season in 2025, having impacted thousands of area students and educators.

Teams competed in four in-field sectors: soils, aquatics, forestry and wildlife. The most nerve-wracking part of the competition for most students is the presentation component where each team must come up with solutions to a scenario, given only 90 minutes; this year it was to create a habitat restoration plan for positive biodiversity outcomes in a changing climate. They then have 10 minutes to present their solutions to a team of judges.

In addition to the workshops and competition, this year we initiated a regional legacy project - an invasive species pull of periwinkle. Periwinkle is a non-native species that is a threat to biodiversity in the forest. Periwinkle has escaped from the lawns of Stokely Creek Lodge (SCL) where it was likely planted decades ago, and has invaded the forests around the lodge in thick mats of roots and foliage. With the permission of SCL, help of volunteers from the Sault Climate Hub and The Kensington Conservancy, Natural Resources Canada, 49 students, 8 staff, and an instructor from the Invasive Species Centre, we began this "Decade Long Project" to control the spread of this invasive species and give native species like trout lilies, Solomon's seal and trilliums a chance to thrive.

Algoma Region has three teams qualified to advance to provincials:

1st Place: Elliot Lake Secondary School (Team #3) made up of Alycia Rotskas, Adrianna Benvenuti, Billie-Ray Olmstead, Lauren Lennon, Kendra Beaulieau; Mentors - Caily Robinson, Aniela Pulice

2nd Place: Central Algoma Secondary School (Team #1) made up of Emmett Robinson, Roxie Wilding, Cherish Miller, Quinn McCracken, Ben Kirby; Mentor - Barb Willoughby

3rd Place: Superior Heights C&VS (Team #7) made up of Lindsay Beynon, Alexis Tong, Sofya Ooi, Tiare Huertes, Catie Prusky; Mentors - Colleen Mogg, Jen Mason, Steph Pomber

Best Individual Performances in Each Competition Category:

Aquatics - three way tie: Central Algoma Secondary School (team #1), Elliot Lake Secondary School (team #3) Superior Heights C&VS (team #7)

Forests - ELSS (team #3)

Soils - ELSS (team #3)

Wildlife - White Pines (team #10)

Presentations - 1st Place: ELSS (Team #3); 2nd Place: CASS; 3rd Place: ELSS (Team #4); 4th Place SH (Team #7)

The event would not have been possible without the generous support of the following community partners: