They say the third time is a charm, but in Parkway North’s case, it has been charmed from the start. Parkway North High School has won the state Envirothon competition for the third straight year. The school is part of the Parkway School District in St. Louis County.

The Envirothon consists of students competing at five outdoor testing stations—aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife and the 2008 current conservation issue, recreational impacts on natural resources. Test stations require the five-student teams to answer a variety of both hands-on and written natural resource questions. Each team also gives an oral presentation to a panel of judges. 

Winning this competition three times in a row is no easy feat. As team members from Parkway North can attest, it requires a lot of dedication. “We meet every Monday after school, and we attend lectures at Washington University when we can,” said Amal Al Lozi, a member of the winning team. “I also study at home a lot.”

“As a group, we’ll go to parks and identify trees and things,” said team member Kathleen Beilsmith. “Our coach has a lot to do with our success though, too.”

Parkway North coach Russell Barton has sponsored the team for the past five years.

The team will go on to compete at the 2008 Canon Envirothon in Flagstaff, Ariz., July 28 to Aug. 3. The Envirothon is North America’s largest high school natural resources competition, with more than 40 states and seven Canadian provinces competing at the national level.

The state event features the top three teams from each of Missouri’s seven regional competitions held throughout the year. Contact your local soil and water conservation district office for regional competition dates.

To obtain pictures and additional information about the Missouri Envirothon visit http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swcp/envirothon.htm.

Sponsors for the Missouri Envirothon include the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, local soil and water conservation districts, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Districts Employee Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the University of Missouri Extension and the Show-Me Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

For more information, contact the Department of Natural Resources’ Soil and Water Conservation Program at 573-751-4932 or the department toll free at 800-361-4827.

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