The Science Reflector - NCSTA Newsletter

As spring approaches, now is the time for students to start preparing for spring science competitions. In this issue of the Science Reflector we celebrate the NC Envirothon team and encourage teachers and students to consider participating in the NC Student Academy of Science. In the meantime, students are invited to celebrate the anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first flight all year long with a monthly competition.

The Problem: How can a modern Farm Family overcome the challenges of severe weather patterns, a bad economy, and encroaching urban sprawl to continue farming as a profitable business and a model of environmental stewardship?

The Solution: Embrace diversification by producing several farm products rather than just one; incorporate soil & water conservation practices that work to reduce erosion and increase soil health; and apply for conservation easements that protect the development rights of the farm property while allowing farming to continue.

It was this innovative Farm Conservation Plan that employed a myriad of economically feasible and ecologically sustainable “best management practices” that earned Sub-Chronic Exposure from Enloe High School in Raleigh 3rd Place at the 2003 International Canon Envirothon held July 26-31 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The 5-member team ranked in the Top Three at the world’s premier environmental competition that challenges high school students’ knowledge in five natural resource areas: soils, aquatic ecology, forests, wildlife, and current environmental issues.

Out of 47 teams from 41 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, team members Erin Dunn, Marc Horstman, Jake Levitas, Jonathan McDaniel, and Stephanie Miller scored high on all five written exams and delivered an impressive 20-minute Oral Presentation that effectively illustrated their solution to a farm family’s struggle to hold on to their agricultural livelihood and the beautiful land that had been in their family for generations.

All five team members received a $1,000 college scholarship and two medallions for the highest score on the Current Environmental Issue “Farmland Protection” from Canon, the sponsor of this international competition. Team Advisors and Enloe High School Science Teachers, Chad Ogren and Debbie Massengill, won a deluxe Canon digital camera kit and were both recently named “Envirothon Team Advisors of the Year” by Wake Soil & Water Conservation District, the team’s sponsoring agency. Both teachers have involved their students in the Envirothon program for the past seven years.

“The Envirothon makes learning environmental science relevant to young people’s lives,” commented Ogren. “It introduces them to the natural world, to natural resource careers, and to the concept of environmental stewardship as a life-long responsibility of every conscientious citizen. Our students love learning about the environment and are highly motivated to protect environmental quality and our quality of life.”

Repeating their prior 3rd Place finish in 2001 in Mississippi, Enloe High School returned to North Carolina a second time as one of the Top Three Envirothon teams in the U.S. and Canada. This semester Enloe has formed three teams that are studying hard in pursuit of another year of Envirothon excellence.

Enloe High School was originally sponsored to both Area 4 and North Carolina Envirothon competitions by their local Wake Soil & Water Conservation District. Their all-expense paid trip to Maryland was sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Conservation Districts and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Division of Soil & Water Conservation, co-sponsors of the North Carolina Envirothon now in its 13th year.

For more information about participating in the regional and state Envirothon competitions, contact Steve Bennett, North Carolina Envirothon State Coordinator, (919) 571-4700 x212 or Steve.Bennett@ncmail.net .

Wright Brothers' First in Flight Competition!

The North Carolina Space Grant Consortium and The Science House are pleased to announce a series of month competitions for K-12 students across the state. These competitions will celebrate the accomplishments of Orville and Wilbur Wright during this centennial year of flight. A different monthly competition is available for students to enter from August through February. Prizes will be awarded at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Visit the web site - http://www.science-house.org/student/wrightflight/ - for more information and details!

The North Carolina Student Academy of Science is a student research organization that provides opportunities for students who are doing investigative projects in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, or technology to present their research to a group of their peers and professional researchers. Students present oral presentations before experts in their field of the research and get feedback on their work, and they compete for awards including trips to scientific meetings.

Middle school and high school students who are doing research projects are invited to participate. A statewide competition will be held in the spring of 2004. To receive information on joining the Student Academy and find out how to contact your regional directors, students and teachers can email warshaw@ncssm.edu

This year the NCSAS competition is being held in coordination with the State Science Fair. Students who compete on Friday April 30, in the Science Fair at Meredith College, are encouraged to spend an extra night and participate in the Student Academy competition at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics the next day.

Students have the opportunity to learn more about their environment and discover issues related to erosion and sedimentation control in North Carolina by submitting a 500-1200 word essay. Sedimentation is the largest pollutant to water quality by volume in this state. This contest increases knowledge of the
biological and economical impacts of sediment to the communities in which we live. Read the Muddy Water Essay Contest brochure at www.dlr.enr.state.nc.us/eroschol.html. For additional information, see the Division of Land Resources web page, Erosion and Sedimentation Control Program (www.dlr.enr.state.nc.us).