Carmichaels Envirothon Team Wins State

It’s been an exceptional year for the Carmichaels Envirothon team. In March, teacher Kevin Willis was named Coldwater Conservationist of the Year by the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited. During the first week of May, Carmichaels took home first, second, and third place at the Greene County Envirothon. And then – best of all – the team took home first place at the State Envirothon for the first time in the competition’s history.

The 35th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held at the Susquehanna University and Camp Mount Luther on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 22 and 23, 2018. High school students from 65 Pennsylvania counties participated in a series of field station tests that focus on five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues. The teams also prepare and deliver oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluate each team on its problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge.

Carmichaels’ 5-person team, consisting of Stephen Zacoi, Ryan Swartz, Joey Kurincak, Christina Adams, and Jacob Hair, won the competition with a score of 546 points of a possible 600, defeating last year’s state and national champion school, Penncrest High School of Delaware County. The Carmichaels team were high station winners for Forestry, Wildlife, and the Oral Presentation, and tied with Conneaut High School in the Current Issue station. Their oral presentation was a perfect example of how hard they prepared – they received a perfect score.

“One of the judges from our oral component came up to us afterwards and said, ‘I was one of your judges,’ and then she started to cry. Then she said, “I just wanted to tell you that when you walked out of the room all the judges said they’d given you 100.’ She said they went over the rubric trying to find something but couldn’t. She’d never seen that in all of her years at the competition,” Kevin Willis shares.

The victory at the state competition takes the team to the NCF-Envirothon held at the end of July In Idaho to compete against approximately 47 states, eight Canadian provinces, one Canadian territory, and two Chinese provinces.

But the two months between competitions isn’t a chance to rest and relax. It’s a chance to keep building the skills that they’ll need to take with them to win the championship. The competition in Idaho will have the students facing unfamiliar territory – the open-range. The students will need to learn more about rangeland management, sagebrush management, and sage grouse habitats, for example.

“It’s the total opposite of Pennsylvania. Where around here land is mostly privately owned, there it’s mostly publicly owned. Instead of fencing their cattle in like we do here, they fence their cattle off the property,” explains Willis. “There are a lot of differences between here and there. We get 41” of rain, they get 14”. Our fires are in spring, theirs are in summer. There are so many things we have to become more aware of for the site-specific habitat.”

To help with this, the students and Willis have turned to one of their best resources – other people. They’ve worked with the Conservation District, foresters, Eric Davis of the Fish & Boat commission, and many more to prepare for the local, state, and national competitions. Even those that are unable to assist in person have sent valuable resources, such as Dr. Bob White of California University. They’ve also talked to the Sislers of Hunting Hills, who have spent time hunting in Idaho.

“Monday the students went on a field trip to Hunting Hills for the full day. There were people from the conservation district there, a USGS Surface Water specialist that had lived in Idaho that was there. We spent the day trying to learn a little of everything,“ Willis says. “There’s a whole new set of references to prepare with for NCF.”

“It’s just us enjoying our time, it doesn’t feel like work,” says Stephen Zacoi about preparing for the competition. “When we got to the [state] competition, it was more like doing business. But it was still enjoyable.”

“After we lost last year, I said ‘Before I graduate we’re gonna win.’ And we did. I think that was a lot of motivation for me,” confides Joey Kurincak about his first year at the state championship. ““It still seems crazy that we actually won. We took working hard to the next level and I think that showed. We had a really good team here.”

His teammates agree. “This is the best I’ve sever seen a team get along. We’ve really meshed,” says Ryan Swartz.

“We all just came together like a puzzle and the pieces fit together,” adds Christina Adams.

“The field trips we took during the school year really helped at the competition,” says Jacob Hair.

“The competition was just a culminating activity from the year. We spent time learning and experiencing different things. Those experiences were super valuable. Without any of those things, there would be a gap,” states Willis. “But this year there were no weak links, no gaps.”

Our 2018 Pennsylvania Envirothon champions will represent Pennsylvania at the 30th NCF-Envirothon competition July 22 – 28 at Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho. They’ll fly out on July 20, a few days before the competition so that they can get a tour of what the habitat is like and visit some of the area landmarks.

“People have been so supportive of the team. We’ve had super support from every level and every possible outlet,” Willis enthuses. “We’ve had a lot of support from the alumni for help with the oral component. One showed up for the field trip on Monday... They’re pretty pumped about it, it’s a part of their legacy. Everybody’s really rooting for us.”

The team is looking towards the community for support and assistance to help fund their trip to Idaho. Individuals or businesses can donate. There will be a send-off celebration held at the Carmichaels Area High School on July 19 at 3pm to wish the team good luck. For more information about the send-off celebration or if you would like to support the team in any way, please call the school at 724-966-5045.

Published in July 2018 GreeneScene Magazine.