By Haley Yates
Richardson’s Envirothon team competed last week against 22 other teams at the Texas State Envirothon Competition at Brazos Bend National Park in Houston and placed third overall. Senior Christine Kim placed first in Aquatics, and senior Meredith Herbst placed first in Forestry.
The first two days of competition consisted of lectures and field tests where students identified tree types and animal tracks. On the third day, the teams spent three hours building a presentation to present to the judges.
“We had to stay focused because we were constantly working and there’s really no down time,” senior Sam Nohra said. “We didn’t have any time to goof off.”
AP Environmental teacher Tony Strohmeyer took the team on a campout the night before competition. The students hiked around the park and got a closer look at the type of environment they would be working in.
“We learned a lot more hands on things about our topic,” Kim said. “It was really fun eating s’mores and chilling out with Mr. Strohmeyer.”
Everything in Envirothon overlaps with the curriculum in AP Environmental, making it easier for the seniors taking Strohmeyer’s class.
“The questions relate to the area we are in,” Nohra said. “It was pretty cool because we got to see 42 alligators.”
In preparation for the competition, students had to make an organic sustainable farm and present it in front of several AP Environmental Science teachers throughout the district.
This year was the first time Richardson received medals for the Envirothon.
“We were never really the powerhouse before, but this year we’ve changed things,” Kim said. “[Before the competition,] Mr. Strohmeyer made us huddle up and he said some really inspirational words that meant a lot to us. I got teary eyed because we were here together for a really long time and we studied so hard. Then we started to do the I believe chant and it was a nice bonding time.”