The End of this Year’s Cycle for Environmental Club

Environmental club is one of the most interesting and fastest growing clubs at Benet Academy. Every year this group of ecological whiz-kids puts together a team to attend the Envirothon, a competition at the Danada House that tests high school students on their knowledge of environmental science and problem solving abilities. At this competition, students are quizzed in the various fields of environmental science and get the opportunity to hear experts in wildlife, aquatics, forestry, and soils. Every year Benet has gone to Envirothon they have brought back great accomplishments and accolades, and this year was no exception. This year, Benet was able to bring two teams to Envirothon, one of which brought home the second place title.

Benet Team One, who took home the second place title, is comprised of juniors Ryan Habeck, Sarah Habeck, Brice Dirl, and sophomore Kaylie Scorza. They had one fewer team-member than most teams competing at Envirothon. For the Habecks Envirothon was a great opportunity for learning through research, as their whole team spent a great deal of time in preparation. Their team’s performance at Envirothon is extremely admirable considering their effort and accomplishments under relatively difficult circumstances.

Team Two, comprised of sophomores Jason Byrne and Patrick Forsythe and junior Jackie Schuman, also worked through difficult circumstances with a three-member team and were happy to compete with other students at Envirothon. According to Byrne, it was an “eye-opening experience” and was even worth having to miss school.

Club Moderator Mrs. Linda Volin is very proud of her teams and their results, although she was certainly not surprised on their success. Mrs. Volin says the next steps for Environmental Club in the coming years are to include more events for members, to draw in a fresh base of membership from the student body and incoming freshmen, and to create more opportunities for student leadership within the club. Benet came close to winning Envirothon this year, even with a very small group, and will be going back to Envirothon next year with a strong chance of winning. Any students who would like to be involved in the extremely fun and gratifying experience of Envirothon next year are welcome to come to Environmental Club and get involved in the other great activities they have available.