A quintet from Palmerton Area High School emerged victorious in the annual Carbon County Envirothon, held at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center.

The group, calling their team Hagfish V.3, consists of captain Gretchen Schaible, Adriana Fugazzotto, Noah Marks, Joshua Rehatchek and Kellen Trotter, accumulated 332 points in the event which tested them in five categories.

In second place was the Floppy Flounders team of Panther Valley High School, who got 288 points. Headed by Mikayla Yuricheck, this team also consisted of Tyler Black, Eli Maynard, Maddison Maynard and Merissa Miller.

Eleven teams took part in the competition in which they were tested on the topics of forestry, wildlife, soil, aquatics and current events.

Experts in each of the categories discussed the respective topic with the students, who were then tested. Scores of the teams were compiled to determine the champion, with awards presented by employees of the Environmental Center.

Two teams finished tied for third place. They were the Groovy Green Gals of Weatherly High School and a group that simply labeled themself Jim Thorpe Area High School.

The Envirothon was sponsored by District 14U of the Lions Club International. Dave Leon of Stroudsburg, past District Governor, said the club provided each student with a tee shirt and also gave several pairs of binoculars to the Environmental Center.

Students used the binoculars to identify birds and habitat at the Center.

Leon said the Lions have been a sponsor of the Envirothon for a number of years. He said, “The Lions area community service organization. There are certain causes which are near and dear to our hearts. They are youth and the environment.”

Susan Gallagher, chief naturalist at the Environmental Education Center, said she feels it is a great education experience for the students.

She said, “I love to see the kids excited at the end of the day when they announce the winners. You see that the kids take it seriously.”

Naturalists Jeannie Carl and Franklin Klock participated and handed out the awards.

Cory Bentzoni, a state game warden, did bird calls and tested the students on their ability to identify them.

William Thomas, a forester with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, quizzed the participants on plant identification, habitat and forest types.

He said he enjoys participating in the Envirothon. “It’s great,” he said. “I was a part of it when I was in high school. It’s a great place to get kids out of school and into this setting to think about the environment. We engage kids who might not otherwise be engaged.

“We couldn’t do it without the Lions support,” Klock said.

Three more days of the Envirothon are scheduled for Carbon County students.

They are:

• May 6: Grades 2 and 3, “Snoops.”

• May 7: Grades 4 and 5, “Explorers.”

• May 8: Grades 6, 7 and 8, “Investigators.”