By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Fresh from a first place team win in regional Envirothon competition, a Niles High School team is busy preparing for State competition in May.
In fact, the five-person Niles team gets bragging rights for outscoring all other regional competitors throughout the state.
Regional competition was decided March 20 at the Fort Custer Learning Center in Augusta. The first place winning team was comprised of Ryan Lingle, Bobby Nash, Sam McDaniel, Jeff Hoida and Cody Floor with alternate Chelsea Paturalski standing by.
Three Niles teams competed in the regional meet and will continue on to the Michigan Envirothon state competition in May. This year the teams travel to Camp Cavell in Lexington on the shore of Lake Huron.
Derrick Lingle, Heather Croteau, Hilary Landgraf, Ashley Holloway, Kyra Carpenter, Jessica Carter, Corissa Clinard, Max Keller, Enung Mulawati and Paul Mooney make up the other two teams with Lauren Girvin serving as alternate.
The road to the state competition has been a long one. In September team advisors select their teams including five members and up to four alternates.
"I am extremely picky about my teams. Not only do they have to be maintaining good grades but they also must stay out of trouble. Any suspensions and they are out," said Eira McDaniel, Niles High School Science teacher and Envirothon team advisor.
Teams then register and begin to choose a community outreach project. Health release forms have to be filed before either students or advisors can participate.
There are seven categories to study for including energy, agriculture, soils and geology, wild life, aquatic ecology, forestry and the community project. Each team member ideally attempts to specialize in one area, as the test is completed through teamwork.
"Some questions might require netting bugs out of a stream or pond and based on what they find there, determining how clean that water is," McDaniel said.
Her son Sam was part of the winning regional team. As he thinks of a career in science, he finds the Envirothon activities fascinating.
"At first we are given seminars that serve as a general overview as to what the categories are all about. This year my specialty is aquatics as I was involved in the Science Olympiad with Awesome Aquifers, " he said.
The teams have to learn to identify certain species of birds and reptiles by their sound. Frogs are the sound subjects they are currently studying.
Other possible projects can require identifying the organic materials in layers of soil by looking in a deeply dug hole. They might also be asked to suggest missing minerals based on the color of the soil.
Competitors last year took first place in forestry and second in both soils and ecology and agriculture. This year McDaniel suspects her teams will again walk away with a few category wins.
"There is one team that always seems to win the overall first place," she said.
McDaniel's teams have walked away with 11 plaques in the 13 years since she first began forming teams for the competition. She began the program in Niles the year she started teaching here.
Each year participants have an opportunity for special scholarships related to the Envirothon. Winners are also treated to a special trip.
Last year's winners went to Lansing and met with Governor Jennifer Granholm.