(Long Valley, NJ—May 13, 2017) Ten High Tech students participated in the 2017 Envirothon, where thirty teams from across the Garden State converged at Schooley’s Mountain Park for the competition, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Two High Tech Envirothon teams competed. Team #2, consisting of Sarah Bacha, Soham Shah, and Zhixiu Zhang of North Bergen, Bayonne resident Alex Seth Becerril, and Aubrey Beam of Jersey City, earned First Place in the Envirothon’s Team Presentation. Team #2 placed ninth overall in the entire state. Team #1, consisting of Chandni Raithatha and Vibha Chauhan of Jersey City, North Bergen resident Mihir Vora, Eleanore Woodruff of Weehawken, and West New York resident Amir Mustafa, placed seventh overall in the entire state.
“Despite a night of drenching rain at the campsite and all day during the competition, the students never complained and were amazing competitors,” says Shelly Witham, High Tech Environmental Science instructor, named an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers in 2009.
A hands-on, problem-solving competition held every May, the New Jersey Envirothon teams of five students convene for a day-long event, with honors, prizes, and even scholarships at stake. Areas of competition include Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, Team Presentation, and a Current Environmental Issue. One week prior to the event, students must consider an environmental and/or real-life scenario for which they must explore the natural resources, implications, and stakeholders involved; collaborate to devise a solution; and provide a team presentation to a panel of judges on the day of the Envirothon competition.
