Students from Hastings High School are going on to compete in the statewide Envirothon, after topping 10 other Westchester high school teams in the regional competition last month that tested them on such things as aquatics, soil, forestry and wildlife.
The teams competed at the 21st Annual Hudson Valley Envirothon held on April 27 in Fishkill. Hastings' team came in 4th overall among the 30 high schools from the Hudson Valley that competed.
The other Westchester teams were from Woodlands High School, Greenburgh; Yorktown High School; Ossining High School; Walter Panas High School, Lakeland School District, Cortlandt; John Jay High School; and Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES. Westchester entered more teams in the competition than any other county, with some schools sending more than one team.
"Congratulations to the team from Hastings High School," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. I am proud of their achievement as well as the excellent effort of all the participants. Events such as this encourage our students to expand their interest in science and our environment."
The Hasting team, led by teacher Melissa Shandroff, will represent Westchester at the New York State Envirothon on May 23 and 24 at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, in Geneva. The winning team from the state Envirothon in May will represent New York State at the Canon National Envirothon at Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania in July.
The team members were Berenice Tompkins, Lydia Lichtiger, Veronica Erdman, Clara Weinstein and Ariadne Bozigos.
The Envirothon's primary goal is to encourage students to learn about becoming good stewards of the land. The teams are each made up of five to seven students.
The regional competition was co-sponsored by the Westchester County Department of Planning and the county's Soil and Water Conservation District. The Mount Academy team of Orange County placed first and second.