A team of Penncrest High School students has won first place in the national Canon Envirothon–not a race, but a marathon competition that tests students’ proficiency in ecology and environmental issues.
Advancing from the Pennsylvania championship, the Penncrest team triumphed in a week-long series of challenges in Asheville, North Carolina, including outdoor tests of identification and measurement and oral presentations on soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and biodiversity.
This is the third national first place finish for Penncrest High School, and the eleventh for a team from Pennsylvania. Members of the team include coaches Mark Samilenko and Amanda Meltz, Katie Davis, Katie Ferguson, Elizabeth Freeburg, Alex Senko and Jennifer Walker. Each student receives $5,000 in college scholarships.
Source: Mark Samilenko
Writer: Chris O’Toole