ARDMORE, Okla. — The Ninnekah High School team placed first at the Oklahoma Envirothon competition held in March at the Noble Research Institute. This was the third year Noble Academy, the Noble Research Institute's youth education and outreach program, hosted the Oklahoma Envirothon competition.
Noble Academy will sponsor the Ninnekah team as they represent Oklahoma at the North American competition on July 23-29, in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The winning team members are: Kaylee Crutchfield, Dakota Dinsmore, Kailee Fitzpatrick, Ethan Mann and Caden Smith. The team adviser is Connie Taylor.
"This team was dedicated and worked all school year to accomplish this goal," Taylor said. "The students are involved in several other extra-curricular activities, which made Envirothon practice challenging. Their discipline and work ethic were determining factors this year, and I'm proud of them."
The Oklahoma School for Science and Mathematics "B" team placed second, and the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center team placed third.
During the competition, students rotated among four stations that focused on aquatic ecology, forestry, soil and wildlife. Each station included a written test based on the discussions. Each team also gave a presentation on agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship, this year's special topic.
"We look forward to competing in the North American competition," Taylor said. "It will be a great opportunity to learn more about the competition and to meet students from other states. This will be a great learning experience for them."
The Oklahoma Envirothon is a team-based environmental science competition for high school students and is part of an established North American Envirothon program. "This competition is an exciting, fun way for students to learn about the environment and the issues facing current and future generations," said Frank Hardin, Ph.D., Noble Academy educational outreach manager. "The Oklahoma Envirothon demonstrates the role we have in important environmental issues through in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences."
For more information about the Oklahoma Envirothon competition, please visit www.oklaenvirothon.org. For questions, please contact Frank Hardin, Ph.D., at cfhardin@noble.org or Will Moseley at wamoseley@noble.org.
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The Ninnekah High School team placed first at the 2017 Oklahoma Envirothon competition in Mach. Team members are (L to R): Caden Smith, Kaylee Crutchfield, Kailee Fitzpatrick, Ethan Mann and Dakota Dinsmore.
