MASSACHUSETTS
ENVIR
news release
THON
www.maenvirothon.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Diane Petit, Public Affairs Officer, USDA-NRCS
413-253-4371, cell 413-835-1276, diane.petit@ma.usda.gov
CORRECTION: Due to a scoring error discovered after the event, the 4 th and 5th place results for the
Wildlife Ecostation have changed. No other winners were affected. Corrected results are below.
2014 Mass. Envirothon winners announced
Bay State teens focus on Sustainable Local Agriculture
LEOMINSTER, Mass. (May 20, 2014) – A school year of preparation paid off for local teenagers who
were rewarded for their knowledge of the environment at the 27th annual Massachusetts Envirothon.
They were among 250 high school students from more than 30 Massachusetts communities from Boston
to the Berkshires descended on Sholan Farms in Leominster on Thursday, May 15, 2014 for the outdoor
field competition.
At the event, teams rotated through four “ecostations” where they answered written questions and
engaged in hands-on activities such as soil analysis, wildlife habitat assessment, tree identification, and
water quality measures. Each team can have up to 10 participants who split into specialized sub-teams
during the competition, each focusing their efforts at different ecostations.
At the fifth station, the Current Issue, each team gave a 15 minute presentation on Sustainable Local
Agriculture to a panel of judges. Teams researched the Current Issue in their own community in
preparation for their presentation. Judges included environmental professionals from government
agencies, non-profit organizations, academia and private industry. Teams were asked to assess
sustainable agriculture in their community and to recommend steps that their city or town and individuals,
including young people, should take to support local farming and food production.
This year’s top scoring teams are:
Overall Score
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Newton North High School
Quabbin Regional High School
Lexington High School
Current Issue Presentation
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
4th Place (tie)
5th Place (tie)
Quabbin Regional High School
4H Envirothon Club
Springfield Central High School
Newton North High School
Pioneer Valley Regional School
Leicester High School
Monson Environmental Action Team
Weston/Land's Sake
Forests Ecostation
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Lexington High School
Acton-Boxborough Regional High
Pioneer Valley Regional School
NOTE to editors & reporters:
Group and action photos of teams are
available. Contact Diane Petit (contact
info above) to request photos of your
local team.
4th Place
5th Place
Needham Area Homeschoolers
Newton North High School
Soils Ecostation
1st Place
Quabbin Regional High School
2nd Place (tie) Newton North High School
Tantasqua High School
3rd Place (tie) Lexington High School
Needham Area Homeschoolers
4th Place
Oliver Ames High School
5th Place
GCC Permaculture
Water Ecostation
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
4th Place
5th Place
Quabbin Regional High School
4H Envirothon Club
Bedford High School
Acton-Boxborough Regional High
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Wildlife Ecostation
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
4th Place
5th Place
Newton North High School
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Lexington High School
4H Envirothon Club
Leominster High School
“We were excited to have this year’s Envirothon at Sholan Farms in Leominster because it is a model
of successful state, municipal and volunteer partnerships as well as environmental protection,” said
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan. “I congratulate all the students and teachers
for their hard work preparing for the Envirothon.”
“The Envirothon is more than just a competition about environmental knowledge. It’s a gathering of
the environmental community of Massachusetts. It aims to prepare the next generation for the
stewardship work that needs to be done,” said Massachusetts Envirothon Steering Committee Chair Will
Snyder of the University of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment.
Sholan Farms is a 169-acre farm owned by the City of Leominster and operated by the Friends of
Sholan Farms, a community supported, non-profit organization managed by dedicated members and
volunteers. Envirothon teams participated in several service projects on the farm during the event.
The 2014 Mass. Envirothon is made possible through the contributions of partnering agencies and
organizations, including financial support from the U.S. Forest Service; the Environmental Business
Council of New England; the City of Leominster, Department of Public Works, Water and Sewer
Division; and local conservation districts. This year, Farm Credit Northeast awarded the Mass. Envirothon
an AgEnhancement grant to fund a lunchtime “Farmers’ Market” roundtable session that featured
discussion, networking, informational resources, demonstrations, and local ice cream for all attendees.
Fifteen federal and state environmental agencies, conservation districts, non-profit organizations, higher
educational institutions, and businesses provide expertise and help organize the event. Dozens of volunteers,
including many members of the Leominster Rotary Club, were also on hand to set up tents, tables and chairs,
check in teams, serve food, score tests, photograph activities and clean up.
For more information on the Massachusetts Envirothon visit www.maenvirothon.org.
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