Leu Gardens hosted the 23rd annual regional Envirothon on Feb. 2. Orange, Osceola and Seminole Soil and Water Conservation Districts sponsored the event to test students on their knowledge of the environment.
“[The students] need to know what the topics are and learn every detail they can. There are no questions to study for so they have to learn every fact possible,” Alyssa Taylor, AP Environmental Science teacher, said.
Participants answered questions on four topics: aquatics, current environmental issues, forestry, and soil and wildlife.
“It was so much fun, I loved being outside all day. We learned a lot and spent time with other people in the class,” junior Allana Crawford said.
The trivia questions helped heighten AP Environmental students’ learning progress in the classroom.
“Because all the topics are covered in class, it helps them prepare for tests and counts as extra studying,” Taylor said.
Ending the day, the Boone team (juniors Savion Jean-Pierre, Jochebed Kim and Eliezer Lopez, with seniors Marcladonne Dormeus and Romina Albokord ) placed first in Orange County. The winners plan on joining those from Osceola and Seminole counties at the state championships.
“Being outside was a great motivator and we didn’t want to let down Ms. [Lisa] Maccarone. Our goal was never to win, we really just wanted to have fun and learn something,” Crawford said.