By James Martin

The environment is extremely important to us humans. The environment is home to the animals that we call pets, is source of food, and holds the water that we drink and clean with. Mrs. Hoelle, the integrated science teacher, is taking 11 students, out of the 15 allowed to compete, to this year’s Envirothon.

The 2019 Envirothon will be held in Cincinnati on April 30. One might ask, “What is it?”

“The Envirothon is a competition between schools in the area testing student knowledge on 5 categories in nature: aquatics, current environmental issues, forestry, wildlife and soils,” Hoelle said. “While at Envirothon, students are grouped into teams, we already have students in teams and are sent from topic area to topic area to answer hands on questions.”

The main goal is to show and inform students about the environment and how humans are affecting it. Students are also able to receive scholarships, depending on how well they perform.

Frankie Munafo, a sophomore at Badin, lives in the Oxford area and spends many hours outside trapshooting and caring for his chickens. He will be attending the Envirothon this year.

“I wanted to learn more about the environment we live in, and there are also benefits that come with it; the college scholarships,” Munafo said.

For all, a college scholarship is quite an accomplishment, whether it is athletically or academically. However, the Envirothon is not just for scholarships and is supposed to be an important event.

Alex Williams, a sophomore, is also attending the event.

“I signed up because I wanted to learn more about the environment and have fun doing it at the same time,” Williams said. “I look forward to finding out things and discovering things you really can’t learn without observing the environment, I also think it would be a fun experience with some friends.”

Overall, envirothon is a great event to learn about the environment and to see how valuable it is to us humans.