Groton School Wins State Envirothon! On to Nationals in July
Groton School has won the 2020–21 Massachusetts Envirothon and is heading to the national competition!
Envirothon challenges high school students to tackle pressing environmental issues facing their communities and the world, emphasizing “hands-on, team-oriented problem-solving and community involvement that prepares young people for environmental careers and active citizenship,” according to massenvirothon.org.
Amy Ma ’23 and Amelia Pottash ’23 assembled and led Groton's Envirothon team, under the guidance of environmental science teacher David Black. Participants also included Wally Capen '21, Georgia Gund '23, Robin Huntington ’22, Amelia Lee '22, Alice Liu '23, Aidan O'Connell ’23, Aisling O'Connell '21, and Aryan Mago ’24.
Envirothon challenges high school students to tackle pressing environmental issues facing their communities and the world, emphasizing “hands-on, team-oriented problem-solving and community involvement that prepares young people for environmental careers and active citizenship,” according to massenvirothon.org.
Amy Ma ’23 and Amelia Pottash ’23 assembled and led Groton's Envirothon team, under the guidance of environmental science teacher David Black. Participants also included Wally Capen '21, Georgia Gund '23, Robin Huntington ’22, Amelia Lee '22, Alice Liu '23, Aidan O'Connell ’23, Aisling O'Connell '21, and Aryan Mago ’24.
“This achievement points to how relevant the study of the environment is at Groton and recognizes David Black for championing this important work for decades,” said Headmaster Temba Maqubela.
Students were scored on two components in this year’s virtual competition—a natural resource challenge and a current issue—and they submitted video presentations for each. A five-judge panel reviewed the videos and questioned the contestants during a twenty-minute online session. In the announcement of the contest winners, Will Snyder of the Massachusetts Envirothon Steering Committee called Groton’s contestants “a tenacious and creative team.”
For the Natural Resource Challenge, competitors assessed a fictional proposal for a school built on woodlands and wetlands, using geographic information system (GIS) mapping and addressing questions about soil, the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, carbon sequestration, drinking water regulations, and wildlife.
For the current issue challenge—this year, Water Resource Management and Climate Change—teams focused on something in their backyard, in Groton's case, the Nashua River.
Envirothon encourages students to engage with people from varying perspectives, such as professionals at state and federal agencies, in local government, and at NGOs and corporations. Groton's team members tackled the topics of drought, manganese levels, and stormwater infrastructure, interviewing experts from the Town of Groton Water Department, the Groton Stormwater Advisory Committee, the Massachusetts River Alliance, the National River Watershed Association, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Committee.
Along the way, they learned a lot about the impact of state and local regulations. “The Nashua River used to be horrible,” said Amy, “but through regulations at the town and statewide level, it was cleaned up.”
Dr. Black said that the students' efforts and approach earned praise not only from the competition's judges, but also from the people in the Town of Groton whom they interviewed. “Groton's first entry into the Envirothon competition was the result of significant student initiative and diligent effort to learn a challenging body of material and to develop presentations that accurately reflected that knowledge,” he said.
Amy and Amelia, both AP Chemistry students now, tapped what they had learned in Third Form Ecology with Dr. Black for Envirothon. Besides Third Form Ecology, Groton students take advantage of numerous courses focused on the environment, including Environmental Chemistry, Advanced Ecology, Environmental Science, and, in the English Department, Sustainability in Literature. Environmental topics are addressed in numerous other classes, from math to ethics to art, and three students are currently doing tutorials (independent studies with teachers)—one on Numerical Analysis of Differential Equations with Environmental Applications and another on Patterns in Pollinator Predation.
Five Groton students will compete in the national competition, virtually, from July 25–28. “This kind of competition," said Dr. Black, "epitomizes all that is good about project-based collaborative learning and creates an awareness of critical issues that all of us will face in the years to come.”
For the current issue challenge—this year, Water Resource Management and Climate Change—teams focused on something in their backyard, in Groton's case, the Nashua River.
Envirothon encourages students to engage with people from varying perspectives, such as professionals at state and federal agencies, in local government, and at NGOs and corporations. Groton's team members tackled the topics of drought, manganese levels, and stormwater infrastructure, interviewing experts from the Town of Groton Water Department, the Groton Stormwater Advisory Committee, the Massachusetts River Alliance, the National River Watershed Association, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Committee.
Along the way, they learned a lot about the impact of state and local regulations. “The Nashua River used to be horrible,” said Amy, “but through regulations at the town and statewide level, it was cleaned up.”
Dr. Black said that the students' efforts and approach earned praise not only from the competition's judges, but also from the people in the Town of Groton whom they interviewed. “Groton's first entry into the Envirothon competition was the result of significant student initiative and diligent effort to learn a challenging body of material and to develop presentations that accurately reflected that knowledge,” he said.
Amy and Amelia, both AP Chemistry students now, tapped what they had learned in Third Form Ecology with Dr. Black for Envirothon. Besides Third Form Ecology, Groton students take advantage of numerous courses focused on the environment, including Environmental Chemistry, Advanced Ecology, Environmental Science, and, in the English Department, Sustainability in Literature. Environmental topics are addressed in numerous other classes, from math to ethics to art, and three students are currently doing tutorials (independent studies with teachers)—one on Numerical Analysis of Differential Equations with Environmental Applications and another on Patterns in Pollinator Predation.
Five Groton students will compete in the national competition, virtually, from July 25–28. “This kind of competition," said Dr. Black, "epitomizes all that is good about project-based collaborative learning and creates an awareness of critical issues that all of us will face in the years to come.”
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