Decorah teams finish strong in Envirothon contest

Two Decorah teams competed in the 20th annual State Envirothon contest held last Tuesday at Springbrook State Park. 

Environthon is a team competition for high school students which tests their knowledge on natural resources. Teams of five students compete in hands-on problem solving as well as answering written questions in five categories: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and Current Environmental Issues.

The Decorah Ospreys, made up of Shai Shay, Maggie Shwarz, Dalton Brown, Peter Swanson and RIchard Weis, took first place in the competition and will represent Iowa at the International-National contest to be held at Trent College in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada later this year in July.

The Painted Turtles, made up of Anna Spencer, Sylvia Betteridge, Josephine Berlage, Shania Kelly and Logan Brauer finished sixth out of the 15 competing teams. '

The Iowa Envirothon competition is hosted by Conservation Districts of Iowa and supported by a number of different Iowa based agriculture, resource and land management organizations.