High school students from Pasco, Hernando and Sumter counties displayed their knowledge for the 2017 Nature Coast Envirothon. The competition is a problem-solving, natural resources education program which tests high school students on their surrounding environment.
Frank Gargano, Katie Carswell, Krista McKean, Gabrielle Kiliman, Kim Dymond, Carolyn Pina and David Sauskojus represented the District this year at Fort Cooper State Park. The Regulation staff recently helped conduct the competition for the 20th year.
The participating staff covered the “Special Topic” portion, which requires them to reference materials provided to the students and learn a new topic for every event, as the topic changes from year-to-year. Once the topic has been studied, the staff administers a test during the competition. This year’s topic was Agricultural Soil and Water Conservation Stewardship.
“I enjoy the event because it is an opportunity to engage high school students in science and promote the District’s Mission, Vision and Values,” Gargano says.
This year’s Special Topic winner and overall competition winner was a team from the Academy of Environmental Science in Citrus County. The students noted that the competition aligns well with their classroom studies.