County kids have fun shining at Envirothon

To the editor:
    On May 19th, nine teams of students from six area high schools voluntarily participated in the annual Northern Regional ‘Envirothon’ at Mantle Lake Park. The half-day environmental education competition was sponsored by the Maine Association of Conservation Districts, and the Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District.     Ann Morris, AmeriCorps environmental educator, coordinated the event in Presque Isle. Students studied various reference materials, and received instruction from teachers and local guest speakers, in advance of the competition to demonstrate their knowledge of wildlife, forestry, soils, aquatic life, and biodiversity.
    Locally, the student team from Hodgdon High School scored the highest number of points, followed by teams from Lee Academy and Ashland High School. At the State competition in Orono, held later in the month, James Ryan of Hodgdon High was awarded the $2,000 Nutting Scholarship to study forestry at the University of Maine this fall.