NORTHUMBERLAND - Students from three area high schools will be among approximately 200 competitors in the 2012 Susquehanna Valley Envirothon today at the Shikellamy State Park Marina.
Mount Carmel Area students will return to defend the school's 2011 title. They'll be joined by local competitors from Line Mountain and Southern Columbia Area.
Other competing schools are from Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties.
Students, freshmen to seniors, will be tested at five separate stations in each of the following categories: aquatics, forestry, wildlife, soils and a current issue, which is "Nonpoint Source Pollution and Low Impact Development."
A non-testing educational station focusing on geology will be presented by Van Wagner.
Individual county winners each advance onto the Pennsylvania State Envirothon competition to be held May 22 and 23 at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
The first-place overall finisher at the state level will win an all-expense paid trip to the national event, the Canon Envirothon, set for July 22 to 27 at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove.
Representatives from the state Fish Commission, Game Commission, Bureau of Forestry, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bureau of State Parks will conduct the testing at each station. Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation District personnel will also be assisting at the event.
The Envirothon program is designed to heighten environmental awareness in each student, test their knowledge and understanding of natural resource issues, and produce environmentally responsible adults.
Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the Envirothon.