Whether it is Earth Day or at the Envirothon competition in Twin Lakes, Norwin’s Envirothon teams constantly showcase their spectacular love and in-depth knowledge for our planet and its future.

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, Norwin High School students from the Envirothon team, or the ecology club, competed at the annual competition at Twin Lakes. During the Westmoreland County Envirothon competition, several students from different school districts competed in five categories — wildlife, aquatics, soils, forestry, and a current issue (renewable energy) — with two Norwin teams taking second and fourth place overall.

With the current issue this year being renewable energy, each student in Norwin’s Envirothon Club took charge of studying one topic in preparation for the competition on April 18.

Throughout the day of the competition at Twin Lakes, Norwin teams — Norwin 1 and Norwin 2 — walked around the park, traversing from each station to answer questions about one of the five categories. The questions at each station ranged from identifying bird calls, speculating the species of an animal, and hands-on activities like figuring out a soil type.

After competing against 22 teams from 11 different school districts, the team “Norwin 2” made up of Damian Savinda, Carmela Lio, Noelle Kravetz, Zack Egnitz, and Grace Fleckenstein, won first place in the wildlife category and second place overall. Furthermore, the team of Arnav Bedekar, Mikayla May, Ray Mamas, Allison Schon, and Scarlett Vesely from “Norwin 1” placed fourth overall.

Every year, Mrs. Muchoney — the Ecology Club/Envirothon advisor — helps get students ready for the competition by guiding them with prep and study materials and getting outside to obtain hands-on practice prior to the competition.

“Being a part of the Envirothon competition offers numerous benefits for students,” Muchoney said. “Firstly, it provides hands-on learning experiences outside the classroom, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. Additionally, participating in Envirothon cultivates critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills, all of which are invaluable in both academic and professional settings.”

While preparing two teams for the competition at Twin Lakes, Mrs. Muchoney created two teams for the competition on Thursday, April 18, 2024. One team (Norwin 1) consisted of primarily of students who were currently in Mrs. Muchoney’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science class at the high school. The other team (Norwin 2) consisted of other members of the club who showed immense amounts of interest in the competition and the club itself.

However, during the competition day, one student could not make it to Envirothon — forcing an alternate to replace an absent member on the second team (Norwin 2).

“This year, we had a student that couldn’t attend,” said Muchoney. “This has happened in the past, and as a result, I typically ask for a couple of students to serve as alternates. Zack Egnitz was initially an alternate, but due to the absence, he contributed to the second-place team. Zack had attended a lot of our preparation sessions, and he was a great asset to our team.”

Even though Norwin 2 had an unexpected absence and a new team player on their team for the Envirothon competition, the team of sophomores and juniors still came out with a second-place win overall.

The annual competition at Twin Lakes also offers many different opportunities for students attending the Envirothon competition. Several different organizations work together to plan the event, and this year a K-9 unit prepared a brief presentation after the competition. Directly before the awards were announced, a special K-9 unit from Pennsylvania arrived with a K-9 dog, who later searched a large area of Twin Lakes for a small weapon piece. Afterwards, the awards were shared among students and photos were taken of the teams that placed in the top 3.

“The competition and the club are important to have, so we learn about the world around us and can find a way to improve it,” sophomore Carmela Lio said regarding the Envirothon competition and Norwin’s placements in this year’s contest.

From the prizes opportunities to learning more about the world around us, Envirothon is a club at Norwin that is here to stay — as environmental issues and climate change continue to wrack the world around us. For many students, the competition was loads of fun and offered valuable connections for those interested in environmental careers in the future.

“Envirothon is a good opportunity for students to network,” said Muchoney, “and the organization works with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Westmoreland County Conservation District, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. I have had students foster relationships that have led to internships and job opportunities through Envirothon.”