by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Fourteen Sartell Middle School students returned from an “Envirothon” competition bearing an armload of trophies, including a first-place honor.
Twenty-six SMS students, grades 7 and 8, participated in the “Region 2 Junior Envirothon,” which was held at the Prairie Woods Environmental Center in Spicer. The competition was sponsored by the Area IV Soil and Water Conservation District.
Each year, teams of students work together to compete in natural-resources knowledge at a hands-on event. The topics the students pursued were wetlands/aquatics, forestry, soils and wildlife, among others. The current-events topic for this year was “Non-Point Source Pollution/Low-Impact Development.” The SMS students were able to work with professors from St. Cloud State University to practice before the actual competition.
Sartell teams earned 1st-place, 2nd-place and 4th-place awards at the Envirothon.
The 1st-place team was comprised of Elliot Edeburn, Jacob Fisher, Jarrett Janu, Adam Johnson and Turner Kuhn.
The four-student team that earned 2nd-place honors was comprised of Dean Amundson, Jonathon Oleson, Rory Spanier and Jack Sexton.
The team that took 4th place was comprised of Alexis Kaas, Bridget Maas, Marit Peterson and McKenzie Stanley.
The teams were coordinated by SMS Academic Extensions Coordinator Lori Dornburg and seventh-grade science teacher Gina Anderson.
