RIPLEY, W.Va. — The Moorefield Gold team from Moorefield High School won first place in the 2024 West Virginia Envirothon Friday at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Jackson County.
The team members on Moorefield, who will share a $5,000 scholarship, are Anna Bowen, Emma Cremann, Amber Williams, Grant Sherman and James Williams. Moorefield Gold will advance to the international NCF-Envirothon competition at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York from July 28 to Aug. 3.
Five-member teams who participate in the Envirothon explore current environmental and earth sciences within the framework of five disciplines: Aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current environmental topic known as the “fifth topic.”
The winning margin for Moorefield Gold over the second-place Ravenswood FFA team, the winners of the 2022 and 2023 Envirothon, was close with Moorefield scoring 493 points and Ravenswood scoring 491.60 points.
Ravenswood FFA’s students will share a $4,000 scholarship. The Funguys team of Jefferson High School came in third place ($3,000 scholarship), the Coal Sinks team from Clay County High School fourth ($2,000) and the rookie Morgantown High School team fifth ($1,500).
Rounding out the Top 10 teams were the Hampshire FFA 1 team in sixth place, Doddridge FFA in seventh, Mavericks Purple of James Monroe High School in eighth, Berry’s Hellbenders of Parkersburg High School in ninth and the Hellbenders team from Clay County High School in 10th.
This year’s fifth topic scenario was: “Renewable Energy, Sustainable Bioenergy Production and the Challenge of Nitrate Runoff.” Students played the role of owners/operators of a 250-acre West Virginia farm, who saw a decline in profits from traditional crops. The students investigated how to utilize renewable energy to increase profits, protect local ecosystems and incorporate renewable energy into their operations.
The statewide competition also tested students’ problem-solving abilities and knowledge about the environment, natural resources, and conservation.
Sponsors for the Envirothon include the Weyerhaeuser Foundation, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Gas Transmission and Storage, the West Virginia Conservation Agency, the Elk Conservation District, the Northern Panhandle Conservation District, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, the EQT Foundation, Toyota Motor Manufacturing of WV, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, the West Virginia Department of Education and the Northern Panhandle Resource Conservation and Development Council.