EDUCATION Education is one of the most important components of the District’s operations. The District does both adult and youth education which includes hosting manure management workshops, trainings for municipal officials on road maintenance practices, urban agriculture workshops, environmental workshops, and, most notably, the Junior and Senior County Envirothons. 2021 Senior Envirothon (Spring) Accept a Natural Challenge! That’s
what the Indiana County Conservation District invites county students to do each year at the annual Envirothon. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, teams participated in a virtual event in 2021. Utilizing online meeting platforms and social distancing, students worked together to compete in the 2021 Sr. Envirothon. Twenty-one teams from Blairsville, Hilltop Baptist Homeschool Co- Op, Homeschoolers for Christ Co-Op, Homer Center, Indiana, Marion Center, Penns Manor, Purchase Line, Saltsburg, and United High Schools, participated in the competition. Five member teams were challenged in a series of tests that focused on aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue, which was “Water Resource Management – Local Control and Local Solutions.” First place was earned by the Homeschoolers for Christ Co-Op, and second place went to Hilltop Baptist Homeschool Co-Op. Placing third was Marion Center’s Bee Hive Five. The Home Schoolers for Christ Co-Op advanced to compete against teams from counties across Pennsylvania. Indiana County’s Homeschoolers for Christ
Homeschoolers for Christ Co-op Andy Bertolion, Bergen Spencer, Joseph Pumford Lily Shilling, and Elizabeth Bruner
Co-Op team comprised of Andy Bertolino, Elizabeth Bruner, Joseph Pumford, Lily Shilling, and Bergen Spencer was among those who qualified to participate in the oral presentation. These outstanding students eventually placed 15th overall in the state competition. Each of the five members of the winning team was awarded a $500 David S. Frick Envirothon Education Grant from ICCD to be used toward post-secondary education. Students in Indiana County have earned an impressive $36,500 in Envirothon education grants since the grant program began.
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2021 Annual Report
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