May 19th was a day to celebrate for five students at Washington Academy. With Don Sprangers as their Envirothon advisor, seniors Chris Plaisted, Chloe Barnett, Lea Bushman, Bryhanah Esposito and junior Anne Zegers attended the Downeast Regional Envirothon Competition at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in East Orland. The team placed 2nd overall. The team then attended the State Envirothon Championship on May 26th, held at the University of Maine at Augusta.  There is a Local Current Issue segment of the competition in which the team has to choose a topic to explore. WA’s team chose “Reclaiming a Saltwater Marsh on the Middle River in Machias” and impressively placed first!

Envirothon is a state- and nation-wide environmental competition where high school students test their knowledge of natural resources and current environmental issues. Teams consisting of 3-5 students compete first at a regional level, answering questions and solving hands-on problems at five stations: Wildlife, Water/Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, and a Current Natural Resource Issue. This year’s current issue was “Protection of Fresh and Saltwater Marshes through Urban Agricultural and Environmental Planning.” The top four teams from each Regional Envirothon then compete at the State Finals.

Chris Plaisted, Anne Zegers, Lea Bushman, Chloe Barnett, and Bryhanah Esposito