AWARE club takes second in annual Envirothon

Combine 45 of the nerdiest kids imaginable, a series of challenging environmental trivia, and gorgeous Ridley Creek State Park and there you have it: Envirothon. This Tuesday, September 28th, eleven of Haverford’s AWARE members ventured to the Envirothon to compete against Strath Haven, Glen Mills, Sun Valley, and Penncrest. The AWARE club is the environmental club at Haverford that works to raise awareness about negative impacts to the environment. The Envirothon is an academic and environmental event held annualy at Ridley Creek State Park http://www.envirothonpa.org/

The Haverford team was sectioned into five specialized groups based on which topics students studied in preparation for the event. Specific fields of environmental study included: Wildlife, Aquatics, Soils, Forestry, and Current Events which were the tests each team took. After arriving at Ridley Creek, students received light refreshments before separating into teams to begin testing.

Haverford AWARE Team A was represented by Seniors Davis “Bubbly” Kurdyla (Current Events), James Hiebert (Soils), Nick Lamprinakos (Forestry), Owen Pollock (Aquatics), and Adam Simonson (Wildlife). Juniors Bridget Murray (Forestry) and Diana DiPretoro (Aquatics) were joined by seniors Julian Alderson (Soils), Marissa Donohue (Current Events), and Lulu Peach (Wildlife) to form Haverford AWARE Team B. Junior Nicole Haftel joined the groups as an alternate, and provided emotional support for anxious competitors.

As both AWARE groups rotated through five stations at the park, team members raced through several multifaceted assessments. The testing included not only extensive background knowledge of specific species, but also identification of unknown soil samples, flora, animal pelts, fecal matter, bird calls, and various mind-boggling humdingers of equal difficulty.

Two hours after commencing the tests, AWARE Envirothoners crashed down in the grass and sunned themselves while munching a light dejeuner. Finally, students gathered around the assessment scoreboard, quivering with anticipation as the judge released final gradings. Much to the delight of Envirothon sponsor Ms. Marshall, Haverford placed second overall in the competition. AWARE Team A  an additional award for scoring the third-highest individually.

Although AWARE was unable to usurp the ever-mighty (yet unpleasantly odorous) Penncrest and claim the first-place spot, members rode home in joyful spirits.