Every Wednesday, HHS Envirothon students study up on topics related to the natural world around them, such as soils, aquatics, forestry, and wildlife.

Envirothon, according to its website, is a not-for-profit organization providing an environmental education program for high school students throughout North America. The program fosters annual Envirothon competitions in participating states and Canadian provinces in which students compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management.

The 2015 Minnesota State Envirothon will take place on May 18 at the Cloquet Forestry Center. The competition consists of a multiple choice section, an identification section, and an oral presentation. This year’s presentation topic involves coming up with a way to help a city with forestation under a budget.

To qualify for State, teams must compete in a regional Envirothon. HHS will compete in the Metro Area Envirothon on May 7 at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.

Mr. John Sammler, Science Department, heads the HHS Envirothon teams. The teams from HHS have typically done very well in the past.

“Sammler says he’s never had a team that didn’t qualify for State,” said Casidy Coats, senior, member of Envirothon. “I hope [my team isn’t] the first.”