Two winning teams at Northeastern Illinois Envirothon advance to state
What a whirlwind of two days! On March 12 and 14, more than 125 students on 25 teams from 17 Northeastern Illinois high schools competed in the Northeastern Illinois Envirothon at either the DeKalb County Farm Bureau or Morton Arboretum location on the topics of aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and this year’s current issue: “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.”
Congratulations to the Northeastern Regional winner Adlai Stevenson High School Team 1!
The Northeastern Illinois FFA division winner was Lyons Township High School Team 1! These teams will advance to the state competition in Monticello later this spring. State winners will go head-to-head in Geneva, New York, at nationals this summer, with the winning team receiving scholarships.
This annual competitive problem-solving event is coordinated by soil and water conservation districts nationwide, challenging students in areas of environmental concern though written and laboratory tests, as well as oral presentation.
The objectives are threefold:
• to test environmental knowledge and understanding of natural resource issues of today and into the future;
• to cultivate future careers in environmental fields;
• to hone team building and enhance communications skills.
Lisle High School Team 1 took second place, and Hinsdale Central High School took third.
The Northeastern Illinois Regional county winners are: University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (Cook), Lisle High School Team 1 (DuPage), Adlai Stevenson High School Team 1 (Lake), Cary-Grove High School Team 1 (McHenry); and Durand High School (Winnebago). Not all counties in the region had participating schools.
The 2024 Northeastern Illinois Envirothon was coordinated by soil and water conservation districts from Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will and Winnebago counties.
This year’s sponsors included Smithfield Foods, Morton Arboretum, DeKalb County Farm Bureau, DeKalb County Pheasants Forever, Hey and Associates, Inc., paleBLUEdot LLC, Hardware Sustainable Gastropub & Brewery, and the Carlsons.
For more information on Envirothon to plan for 2025 or to become a sponsor, visit kanedupageswcd.org/kd/envirothon.