2024 Envirothon

The 2024 Garrett County Envirothon was held on Tuesday, April 30, at Camp Hickory Environmental Education Center. 

Envirothon is a yearly training and competition for high school students. Students first compete at the County level, and if they win, they go to State. Winners of State go on to the International competition. Students from the United States, Canada, China, and Singapore participate in Envirothon.

There are Envirothon teams across the State from public school, private schools, 4-H, Boy Scouts, and many other nationally recognized clubs and organization. Currently here in Garrett County, there are only two teams, one from Northern Garrett High School and one from Southern Garrett High School.

Representatives from the Garrett Soil Conservation District, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, the Maryland DNR Park Service, Forestry and Wildlife Agencies, the Garrett County Forestry Board, and the Extension Office help with training days and the actual competition.

There are five categories of competition: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and a 5th Surprise Issue. This year the Surprise Issue was “Waste to Resources”.

Winners of the categories were: 

  • Aquatics – Southern Salamanders
  • Forestry – Southern Salamanders
  • Soils – Southern Salamanders
  • Wildlife – Southern Salamanders
  • 5th Issue – Northern High School

2024 Garrett County Envirothon Winners

5 Students stand in a row holding boxes containing a shovel. 2 staff members stand on each side.

Congratulations to the Southern Salamanders for winning the 2024 Garrett County Envirothon!!

They will go on to State, which will be held at Mount St. Mary’s College June 11-13.

Above: Miranda Rounds (Maryland Department of Agriculture Planner), Zobiana Dillsworth, Fontana Moreland, Rylee Iden, Lani Daugherty, and Ayla Rodeheaver (members of the Southern Salamanders), and Seth Metheny (GSCD District Manager). 

The Garrett Soil Conservation District presented the winning team members with folding shovel/saws.

A student squats on the ground looking through survey equipment, while two other students stand over her looking frustrated.
Students in a soil pit looking at soil layers
Two female students in a soil pit trying to decipher soil layers

Above Left: The Northern High School team using a clinometer. They are looking from one stake to another stake to determine the slope. One of the questions in the soil test competition is to determine which soil slope group that area is in. Each soil slope group (A, B, C, D, & E) has a range of slope percentages. A soils have a range from 0-3%, B is 3-8%…

Above Right: The team works on determining soil layers.

Left: Southern’s team working with soil layers.

A drawing of a bluish green frog with bulging yellow eyes