The West Johnston High School Envirothon Team, the ‘Sequoias’, placed second in the nation at the Canon North American Envirothon held in Asheville, NC last week. The Canon Envirothon is North America’s largest environmental science competition among high school students where they compete in their knowledge in five subject areas: soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife and current environmental issues. The 5-member team, made up of West Johnston High School students Erin Lineberger, Lewis Braswell, Stephanie Tolar, Frankie Johnson and Thomas Lineberger, came in 2nd place overall among 53 teams from across the nation and Canada. They also scored highest in three of the five subject categories- Forestry (91), Soils/Land Use (93) and Current Issues (100). Each team member received a $4000 scholarship from Canon, plaques and medallions and the team advisor, Melody Lineberger received a Canon digital video camcorder. Pennsylvania took first place at the competition.

The Canon Envirothon is a weeklong competition of intensive training, testing and preparation for a final oral presentation to determine a state or Canadian province winner that will received up to $25,000 in scholarships and prizes. Each year the Canon Envirothon is hosted by a different state. Last year, the competition was held in Flagstaff, Arizona where the West Johnston team came in eighth place and received a total of $6000 in scholarships. Next year the competition will be held in California at the University of California at Merced, often called the ‘gateway to Yosemite’.

The North Carolina Envirothon is sponsored by the NC Association of Conservation Districts where 5-member teams of high school students and middle school students prepare all year for the regional qualifying competition. Only the top eight qualifying teams from the Soil and Water Conservation District eight regions are eligible to compete at the State event and only one team advances to the national competition. The West Johnston High School team set a precedent for North Carolina as the highest scoring team ever to represent our state. Kenneth Langley, of Clayton and former Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, was instrumental in getting the Envirothon program started in North Carolina and served as Chairman of the North Carolina Envirothon for several years.

For more information about the Canon Envirothon, visit their website at www.envirothon.org.