District 1 Envirothon
The Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual Envirothon competition for high school students interested in environmental science. An impressive 30 schools participated in the event, with students ready to showcase their knowledge across a variety of disciplines. Fifteen counties from Northwest Ohio joined together to compete and connect with fellow members. Four stations were set up around the Williams County Conservation League, prepared to test participants’ expertise in Soils, Aquatics, Wildlife, and Forestry.
In the Soils portion, students were tested on their knowledge of soil structure and identification by examining a soil pit, reading a slope board, and answering general knowledge questions crafted by professionals in the field. The Aquatics station challenged participants on the best water management practices and how to implement them in both rural and urban settings. In addition, students answered questions about aquatic organisms and had to determine whether the water environment was of high or low quality. The Wildlife section required students to identify animals, invasive species, and various skulls and pelts. The final rotation, Forestry, tasked members with identifying different tree species, estimating how much lumber could be collected from a single tree, and determining the basal area of a property using a special tool called a cruising prism.
The Ayersville FFA took two teams of four members to participate in the Evriothon competition. Students studied hard for weeks in advance to be as prepared as possible for this event. By the end of the competition, one Ayersville team, taking tenth place, consisted of Olivia Hattemer, Levi Ankney, Ava Sandleben, and Adilae Comden. The second Ayersville team ranked fifteenth place, and those members were Hayden Gorell, Zach Stiltner, Levi Miller, and Kaysen Hattemer. Ayersville is looking forward to sending more students to participate again in upcoming years to strengthen the skills of beneficial environmental practices in its members and their futures.
