Environmental ed program holds annual competition

Planet Earth gets special attention in April and each year eager students get to explore four major environmental categories with guidance from instructors.

CHESPAX, Calvert public school system’s environmental program, hosted teams from three high schools — Huntingtown, Northern and Patuxent — on Tuesday at King’s Landing Park. The Huntingtown tract, which extends to the Patuxent River, gave the science students a great location for studying the four perennial Envirothon categories of aquatics, wildlife, soil and forestry.

On its website, CHESPAX describes the Envirothon as “an annual competition in which students work with environmental professionals throughout the year to gain expertise in a variety of natural resource management fields.” Each year, select students meet with a natural resource specialists for three days during the school year to learn about each specific area.

Linda Subda, a CHESPAX staff member who coordinates the county’s Envirothon, told Southern Maryland News that the state competition adds a category to the list. This year’s state event, which will be held at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, will deal with solar energy. The state competition will be held June 12 and 13.

Huntingtown High science teacher Jamie Rowder said Environthon is like a team sport.

“To be a good team player you have to be willing to work together. We really try to look for a well-rounded team,” Rowder said.

Teams vying for glory in the Envirothon number around five and the participating high schools may enter more than one team.

Subda reported a team from Northern High won the day’s competition and the right to represent Calvert at the state competition in June.

Last year’s state Envirothon, which was held at the University of Maryland, was won by a team from North Harford High. A team from Northern High finished third overall.

Calvert High, which was not represented by a team in this year’s local event, won the state competition in 2019 at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

In addition to collaborating with the Calvert County Soil Conservation Service, Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center’s Patuxent Environmental and Aquatic Research Laboratory, Calvert Forestry Board, Calvert County Natural Resource Division and American Chestnut Land Trust to sponsor Envirothon, CHESPAX also works with students and teachers in the local public school system on several special projects including the local terrapin program, oyster restoration and the green schools program.

To learn more, go to www.calvertnet.k12.md.us/departments/instruction/programs/chespax/.