Virginia’s best high school environmental experts hail from Greater Williamsburg, and they are heading across the country to compete against the best in the world.
Five students from Jamestown High School will represent Virginia in the upcoming week in the National Conservation Foundation’s Envirothon national competition in Idaho. The team placed first in the state competition in May.
Rachel Smith, Lisa Small, Audrey Root, Anna Song and Joanna Stathopoulos will pit their problem-solving abilities and knowledge of the environment against more than 50 teams from across the United States, Canada and China.
The competition begins Sunday at Idaho State University in Pocatello.
On a scale of one to 10, rising junior Lisa Small said her excitement level was “ten gazillion.”
“I want to do the best that I can do,” Small said. “I really just want to show my abilities and hopefully get a high place.”
The Jamestown team and the competitors will be given an environmental problem to solve. They will then have to present a solution to the problem and an implementation plan that factors in the local and federal regulations, the concerns of multiple parties and the management of various natural resources.
The team then will then present their solution before a panel of judges, who will score their solution and understanding of the topic.
The group has spent the last year preparing for the finals, meeting two or more times a week and putting in several more hours of environmental research on their own.
“I feel like if you want to be good at anything you have to really dedicate yourself,” Root said.
Each team member has dedicated themselves to a specific topic. Root is the team’s wildlife expert, and Small focuses on soils. Smith studies aquatics, Song handles forestry and Stathopoulus has prepared for this year’s special topic, which is rangeland management.
All of the work comes on top of their classwork and other extracurricular activities. Both Small and Root are in the honors society, and Small finds time for Scholastic Bowl, Key Club and marching band as well.
“It definitely helps that you don’t feel like your social life is struggling because we’re all friends,” Root said.
The tight-knit team is not only focused on the competition — they are focused on their futures, which they say have already been shaped by their participation in Envirothon. Small said she plans to study environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, and Root said she could see herself doing field work or even being a veterinarian.
“Environthon has definitely been a driving force for what we want to do with a career,” Small said.
Both students said they’ve met professionals who have broadened their horizons and inspired them to pursue careers in the environmental field.
“I didn’t really think I wanted to do something with the environment until I started looking at Envirothon,” Root said.
The Virginia Envirothon is sponsored by Dominion Energy and the Colonial Soil & Water Conservation District.
