A group of five from Dryden High School definitely had a unique learning experience recently while competing in the Provincial Envirothon Competition near Hamilton, ON.
Kara Gaudette, Michelle Arseneault, Alison Gamble, Vaneesha Mashru, and Jasmine Traini all competed in the regional competition earlier this year in Thunder Bay, and were lucky enough to earn the first place position. Their win enabled them to continue on to represent the Thunder Bay district in the Provincial level.
The provincial competition took place at the Tim Horton’s Onondaga Farm in St. George, ON from May 6 to 9th. The Ontario Forestry Association (OFA) is the sponsor of the event, and therefore paid all expenses for the DHS kids to travel to the event. The OFA paid for traveling expenses, accommodations as well as all the meals.
Competing against 18 teams, the Dryden team did not place in the provincials, but Mary Boone, Special Assignment teacher for KPDSB says it was an excellent experience for the kids.
The four yearly topics tested on include Forestry, Soils, Aquatics and Wildlife. There is a special category that changes annually, this year’s topic being the importance of groundwater.
The students are all tested in a hands-on environment, as well as some theoretical testing. Some examples in the forestry category were identifying tree species, inventory and measurements of trees, identifying certain tree diseases, and some theoretical questions involving forestry management, and different scientific techniques. The process was the same for the other categories.
The final category is a little tougher. The students are placed in a room with no materials, only their individual knowledge, and are given four hours to produce an oral presentation answering the question they were given.
“They did a great job in the oral, as I was permitted to watch. They did a great job covering all their content, using all their members and doing it in a very engaging way.” says Boone.
A benefit of the experience was the gathering of local colleges and universities on site, as well as Ontario professionals including the MNR, the OFA and the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
“One of the great things about Envirothon, is that it brings together the students and with the resource professionals in our area.” says Boone. “We’ve had incredible support from the MNR, from Domtar, from the Trapper’s Council. There are so many resource professionals in this area that are willing to give their time to students and these kids have definitely benefited because of it.”
- Ally Dunham
