Three West Valley high school teams swept top honors at the 2022 Arizona Envirothon competition. Two teams from Trivium Prep Academy (Goodyear) won gold and bronze. Centennial High School (Peoria) took silver.
Thirteen teams met at Papago Park in Tempe on Friday to test their field skills in aquatic ecology, water quality, forestry and wildlife management, soil science, land use and agriculture. Teams then applied their expertise to address a real-world but hypothetical ecological challenge. This year, the special theme was “Waste to Resources”, utilizing innovative and creative solutions for managing wastes regeneratively, turning them into resources through restoration, repurposing, and recycling for the benefit of the natural environment and future generations.
The top three teams presented their wholistic and sustainable solutions to a community landfill that had exceeded capacity and a call to reduce the waste stream from their school and community. The gold medalist Trivium team focused on restoring wildlife and riverine habitat through school- and community-driven education and adoption of waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
Trivium’s Sabrina Sutlief described to the panel of judges that “we want to recognize that these are personal choices that are best motivated by our local community rather than imposed from a faraway place.”
The Trivium Prep Academy champions will travel to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in July to represent Arizona at the international NCF Envirothon, competing for scholarships and prizes. The Ohio-bound Trivium team includes captain Zoe Delgado, Sabrina Sutlief, Aaron Flyod, Logan Young, Taylor Fuller and coach Mystie Foote.
Thirteen five-member teams from eight high schools competed for honors and prizes. Schools from throughout the state included Phoenix (Ariz Agribusiness and Equine Center, Paradise Valley and South Mountain), Buckeye (Youngker HS), Peoria (Centennial HS), Goodyear (Trivium Prep Academy), Florence (Poston Butte HS), Tucson/Vail (Mica Mountain HS), and Prescott (Tri-City College Prep).
“We need to make careful decisions about how to manage waste, because from the water we drink to the land we live on, those choices impact our local communities and the world around us,” explained Rodney Held, Arizona Envirothon Chairman. “I was so impressed with how each team developed innovative solutions for resolving the waste management challenge scenario they were tasked with addressing, including the students’ careful consideration of the social, economic and political impacts of their proposed recommendations.”
Award winners for field testing skills were:
Ecostation Awards:
Soils and Land Use
First: Trivium Preparatory Academy (Team 2), Goodyear
Second: Centennial High School (Team 11), Peoria
Third: Tri-City College Preparatory High School, Prescott
Aquatic Ecology
First: Trivium Preparatory Academy (Team 2), Goodyear
Second: Tri-City College Preparatory High School, Prescott
Third: Centennial High School (Team 11), Peoria
Wildlife
First: Trivium Preparatory Academy (Team 2), Goodyear
Second: Centennial High School (Team 10), Peoria
Third: Centennial High School (Team 11), Peoria
Forestry
First: Trivium Preparatory Academy (Team 1), Goodyear
Second: AAEC Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Third: Centennial High School (Team 11), Peoria
Rookie Team of the Year:
Mica Mountain High School, Tucson
Spirit of Envirothon:
AAEC Paradise Valley, Phoenix
