WRN Teens – 1st Place in Regional Envirothon!

Congratulations WRN Teens – 1st Place in Regional Envirothon!

On April 26, our first-ever WRN Teens Envirothon Team participated in the Grand River Regional Envirothon Competition at the University of Waterloo, coached by adult volunteer Graeme Smith. They competed against teams from high school who have done this for several years.

We were proud that they participated; we were super proud that they collaborated so well; then, the big news…WRN Teens Envirothon Team won FIRST PLACE!

Teams had to complete four outdoor practical and written tests on key environmental concepts related to aquatic ecosystems, wildlife, soil, and forestry. They also received a scenario about designing a town to be built near habitats with endangered species. They had one hour to plan before presenting their town plan to a panel of judges. The WRN Teens plan was so well thought out and portrayed a good balance between nature and development needs. The organizers and judges were impressed!

CONGRATULATIONS to Teens Brynn, Jenny, Matt, Bea, and Eva, coach Graeme Smith, and WRN Teens Organizer Marg Paré!

By the way, two of the WRN team members — who helped the team win first place! — aren’t in high school yet!

Envirothon participant:
“I had a great experience participating on the WRN Teens Envirothon Team alongside Bea, Eva, Jenny, and Matt. I enjoyed learning and trying new things in aquatics, soil, wildlife, and forestry. It was my first time using a secchi disk and a soil auger. We used the secchi disk to measure turbidity levels in Laurel Creek and the soil auger to take soil samples to measure the depth of the A Horizon. It was also fun being at the University of Waterloo’s Ecology Lab for both the training and competition days. The competition day was really exciting and the group presentation was my favourite part. Thank you so much Graeme for coaching us and to Marg and Linda for cheering us on! It was a big surprise hearing that we’d won and our team has a spot in the provincials. I definitely want to participate next year!”

Envirothon Plaque

Forests Ontario sponsors regional events and the provincial competition in Ontario which are part of the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon. WRN Teens registration was sponsored by the WRN Youth Fund.

Congratulations WRN Teens, and good luck in the upcoming provincial virtual competition at the end of May!