Pike County Winning Team, The Bad Birches: Ella Clabaugh (team captain), Lily Winagle, Abby Soskil, Emily Kangal, Evan Kimler.

The Honesdale High School, in the Wayne Highlands School District, team called The Earthlings are the overall winners of the 2021 Pike/Wayne Envirothon. (Pictured above: Wayne County and Overall Winning Team, The Earthlings: Emma Diliberti (team captain), Ben Swartz, Jake Turner, Lexi Korb, Codey Gardner.) Second place went to The Bad Birches of Wallenpaupack Area High School. The 34th Annual Pike/Wayne Envirothon was held virtually on Thursday April 15, 2021 over Zoom.

The 1st place team, The Earthlings, from Honesdale High School will be representing Wayne County at the State Envirothon Competition. The state competition will also be held virtually this year, over several days in May of this year. The highest scoring team for Pike County, The Bad Birches, will also be participating in the state competition, representing Pike County.

Envirothon is a one-day educational competition designed to test the knowledge, skills, and problem-solving capabilities of high school students regarding our earth’s natural resources. This year’s event included teams from Honesdale, Wallenpaupack, and Western Wayne high schools.

Each five-member team competed by applying their knowledge and problem-solving skills in subject areas that included: Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils/Land Use, Wildlife, and a Current Issue which was “Water Resource Management: Local Control and Local Solutions.”

The Pike/Wayne Envirothon and Pennsylvania Envirothon partner with the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resource Bureaus of Forestry and State Parks, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to bring this competition to students each year. These committed partners provide educational reference materials for high school teams as well as technical expertise, and knowledge for the event.

Each year both Pike and Wayne Conservation Districts seek financial contributions to support this highly successful youth conservation program. Donations support the purchase of Envirothon T-shirts, educational prizes and awards, lunch and snacks.

This year’s sponsors included: Nature’s Grace, Professional Forest Industry Association, PA Trappers’ Association, New Wave Inc., Honesdale Farm & Garden, Dyberry Sand & Gravel, Elegante Restaurant, Jeff George Design, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Himalayan Institute, Dirlam Brothers Lumber Co., Camp Umpy’s Bagels and Stuff, Northern Tier Hardwood Association, The Hideout, Dutch’s Market, Wallenpaupack Vet Clinic, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, The Dime Bank, Woodloch, Brookfield Energy.

This project was financed in part by a grant awarded to Pennsylvania Envirothon from the Community Conservation Partnership Program, using Environmental Stewardship Funds, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. This project was financed in part by a grant awarded to Pennsylvania Envirothon under the administration of the Shell Oil Company U.S.

The Pike/Wayne Envirothon is coordinated by the Pike and Wayne County Conservation Districts. For more information, contact the Pike County Conservation District office at 570-226-8220 or the Wayne Conservation District at 570-253-0930.