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Luke Tittel wanted to use straw bales and silt fences to stop or redirect fast-moving water. Emily Stricklin emphasized the need for green roofs. And Hunter Howell suggested parking lots be designed to absorb rainfall.
These Harford Christian School students, role-playing as developers designing a shopping complex near a pristine river, were looking for ways to reduce polluted stormwater runoff. Their team had already finished first among Maryland students in a competition of environmental knowledge – and, with the help of an MDE expert, they were prepping for the national stage.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said 17-year-old teammate Brianna Coleman, a recent Harford Christian graduate.
The students were contestants in the Canon Envirothon, which describes itself as the largest national high school environmental education competition in North America. They took top prize at the Maryland competition in June at St. James School in Washington County. That earned each of the students a trophy, a T-shirt and $500 – and the right to travel to Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., in late July for the multi-day competition.
The Maryland team finished seventh out of 54 teams in the national competition. Teams from 44 states, nine Canadian provinces and one Canadian territory participated. The Maryland winners each took home a $1,300 scholarship.
The national competition is in its 25th year. Maryland first participated in 1990, and the state teams have consistently placed in the top 10 at the national event. The Maryland Envirothon competition is directed by a steering committee under the auspices of the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts, with support from the districts as well as federal and state agencies, including MDE.
The Envirothon competition is composed of instruction and testing on five subjects. Four of the topics – forestry, soils, wildlife and aquatics – are repeated every year. A fifth topic is selected by the state hosting the national event. This year, Pennsylvania selected as the topic nonpoint source pollution/low impact development. Participating schools received training material early in the school year. Schools competed with others in their county to earn a spot in the State Envirothon.
The first of the two-day state Envirothon is devoted to review of the materials and preparation for the next day’s testing. MDE’s Special Projects Coordinator Herb Sachs conducted the training on low impact development, an important component of the State’s stormwater management program. In addition to providing training, Sachs tested and graded the 18 participating teams.
“It’s an opportunity to work with young people on providing background education on environmental issues,” Sachs said.
At Harford Christian, a private school in Darlington, the students trained year-round after school. While the Harford County team was not the top scorer in any one of the five categories, it tied with a team from Montgomery County on total points. Using a prearranged tie-breaker, the score on the fifth issue, Harford Christian came out on top and became Maryland’s representative to the National Envirothon. This summer, the students prepared by attending half- and full-day practices and making tests and slideshows to quiz each other.
Envirothon requires students to be familiar with common field instrumentation for the test, said Coleman. She added: “I was able to talk and work with professionals in the environmental field and actually do things that they do in their everyday jobs.”
“We definitely learned a lot about agencies and laws, especially this year,” said 17-year-old Joshua Mohr, who, like his teammates, has participated in the Envirothon in previous years. He said he learned about the Endangered Species Act of 1973. He intends to study wildlife biology or management in college.
Tittel, a 17-year-old recent graduate and the team forestry expert, plans to major in forest management in college. “The Envirothon program allowed me to have a clearer idea of what I wanted to do,” he said.
On a Monday morning in July, the students gathered to practice for nationals. They rehearsed a presentation on low impact development, a technique to reduce polluted stormwater runoff.
Stormwater runoff accounts for about one-fifth of Maryland’s nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland has taken steps to reduce this runoff, including the Stormwater Management Act of 2007.Regulations developed as part of that law require environmental site design (ESD) to the maximum extent practicable for development and redevelopment projects. ESD, like LID, is a comprehensive design strategy for maintaining predevelopment runoff characteristics and protecting natural resources.
Parents and supporters gathered in the cafeteria in the Harford Christian kindergarten building. The room was transformed with tablecloths, flowers and a homemade lunch spread, featuring a judges’ table and microphone at the center. The five students alternated speaking throughout the presentation, which lasted nearly 20 minutes.
“Sidewalks will be made of porous concrete and have planter boxes where possible,” said Stricklin, 18, a recent graduate. She later described how her team will utilize “minimal disturbance techniques,” bio-retention basins and green roofs.
“To increase infiltration, one acre will be an open field of reinforced turf grass and will be used as overflow parking,” explained Howell, 17, who is entering his senior year. When designed properly, reinforced turf is a permeable surface that captures and treats stormwater runoff.
The main parking lot, smaller than the overflow lot, Howell said, would be made with porous pavers. Porous pavers present a surface with holes which can be filled with vegetation or aggregate.
Afterward, Sachs and the other judges gave the students some feedback. All applauded their presentation skills and knowledge of the subject. The judges reminded the students to cite their sources throughout the presentation.
Tittel proclaimed the Envirothon program “awesome,” adding: “My favorite part of the Envirothon is just doing what I love, being outside doing hands-on work.”
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