Youth work to develop solutions for real world environmental challenges
Teens from Mora, Peñasco and Taos high schools gathered at Collins Lake Ranch on Friday (March 24), huddled against the cold, to work in teams to answer quizzes about wildlife, soil, forestry, fish and climate change. They were competing in the firstever north regional Envirothon and gearing up for the statewide event scheduled April 14-16 at the Glorieta Adventure Camp.
The Envirothon teams moved from station to station at the ranch in the morning. They looked at fish eggs and watched big Gila trout in a fish tank brought by the Mora National Fish hatchery before answering questions about fish habitat. They handled wildlife skulls and stood in a dug-down pit to identify soil layers. They learned how tools like a compass and clinometer help with monitoring trees. In the afternoon, the teams used what they had learned to work on a real-world environmental problem, presenting their solutions orally to a team of judges.
The precursor to Envirothons started as a project of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in 1979 as “Environmental Olympics.” It was a way for high school students to get hands-on experience in natural resource management and compete for bragging rights. Today, thousands of teens from the United States, Canada and China compete in Envirothons.
Taos High has fielded a team every year since 2008, when New Mexico started sponsoring Envirothons. Peter Vigil, district manager for the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District and president of the New Mexico Envirothon board, said the first team he sponsored from Taos was all girls. “And it was diverse. I had a Palestinian, I had a white girl, I had a Hispanic and a girl from Taos Pueblo. They went to nationals and competed in Canada. What it taught me was a positive role in science and natural resource fields for women. Because it was a man’s world,” said Vigil, whose three daughters have all competed in Envirothons.
Friday’s north regional event was also the first time Mora High School had an Envirothon team. Mora High School science teacher Steven Salinas had an allgirl team — students Stephanie Romero, Graciela De La Cruz and Kailey Vasquez.
“I like forestry and I like the outdoors,” said De La Cruz about why she joined the first Mora team. She is thinking about a career in forestry.
Vasquez said she learned a lot about soils during the Envirothon. “I learned about texturing it, like if it is more clay-based, it ribbons (when you handle it). That’s something I didn’t know,” she said. Her teammate Romero said she enjoyed learning about the tools for measuring and monitoring trees.
Peñasco teacher Mercella Cordova brought two teams from Peñasco, all easy to identify in camo caps or coats, and one of them — Camo Creed — ultimately won the oral presentation.
But all of the northern teams can go to the upcoming highly competitive state event, which will focus on climate change, the factors that contribute and how it will impact natural resources.
The team to beat at state? The Hot Springs Scat Cats, who have won 10 of the last 11 NM Envirothons. The winner of the state event will be sponsored by NM Envirothon to compete at the international event in July in Canada.
The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute, New Mexico Highlands University Forestry Department, Carson National Forest, Mora National Fish Hatchery, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service hosted activities for the students.
The event was coordinated by Taos Soil and Water Conservation District and the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute. Other sponsors included Mora Independent School District, Western Mora and Tierra y Montes Soil and Water Conservation Districts, New Mexico Envirothon and Collins Lake Ranch.