A team from La Plata High School will advance to the Maryland Envirothon after coming in first place at the county’s April 15 competition.
Held at Gilbert Run State Park, the Charles County Envirothon caps off a school year of studying aquatics, forestry, soils and wildlife. Students are also quizzed on a fifth topic which changes each year. This year, they learned about non-point source pollution.
La Plata’s Team 3, made up of juniors Riley Johnson, Alison Miller and Sofia Myers, and sophomore Ameila Liston, earned 416 points to clench first place. La Plata Team 4 came in second with Westlake High School’s Team 13 placing third.
Myers learned about the Envirothon in her sophomore year. “I’ve always loved the environment and [Envirothon] sounded like an interesting club to be a part of,” she said.
After the club’s first meeting, Myers was hooked. Through Envirothon, she has met new friends and took part in activities that spurred on her interest in environmental causes. “Everyone should be concerned about the environment,” she said. “It’s our Earth, we live here and we have to take care of it.”
Prior to the Envirothon contest, teams made up of students from the seven Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) high school attended three trainings at the Charles Soil Conservation District farm.
La Plata’s Team 3 will represent CCPS at the Maryland Envirothon held in June at Mount St. Mary’s University. The national competition will be held in July at Mississippi State University in Starkville.
