Click to Enlarge Envirothon teams usually have one specialist for each part of the competition, with each member assisting as needed.   Give it up to Norborne! by Bryan Hendricks photography by Jim Rathert Norborne High School may be small, but it's big on conservation. With only 60 students in the whole school, Norborne High outperformed much bigger schools from all over the state last May to win the fourth annual Missouri Envirothon. From there, Norborne went to the international competition at Raymond, Miss., where it placed 25th out of 49 teams. Seven of those teams represented Canadian provinces. The team from Pennsylvania, which consisted of five Eagle Scouts (Boy Scouts of America) won the international title. Held at the Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City, the Missouri Envirothon is an event that allows high school students from all over the state to test their knowledge in forest, fish, wildlife and soil conservation. Between 60-65 schools have teams for competition in seven regions statewide, but only the top 21 teams make it to the state level. Each team contains five students. Norborne's team, which finished third statewide in 2000, was stoked for this year's Envirothon. They rolled into the Runge Center parking lot in a bus festooned with banners proclaiming that they were the team to beat. They backed it up, too, scoring an impressive 472 points out of a possible 600. The Envirothon is more than just a walk in the woods. Teams must complete timed exams at four different stations devoted to forestry, aquatics, wildlife and soil. When they're done with the field work, teams must make an oral presentation on a specific issue. This year's topic was urban non-point source pollution. The field work isn't hard if you're prepared. At the wildlife station, for example, students had to give detailed answers to at least 15 questions. They had to describe how to perform various management techniques to achieve certain goals, for example, and they had to know scientific terms. Each station followed the same format, and many teams had members who were authorities on each individual subject. For example, most teams had an aquatics specialist, a wildlife specialist, a forestry specialist and so on. In that way, they were kind of like basketball teams in which the guards, forwards and center have specific roles. Like a final exam in any class, the regional and state competitions were challenging, but the hardest work was in preparation. Before the regional events begin, each team gets a packet of background materials about various subjects, and then they get busy studying. Yuyng Chen, a senior at LaDue High School in St. Louis, helped his school make it to the Envirothon for two straight years. The first year was more difficult, he said, because he wasn't used to the routine. The second year was easier because he was better prepared and knew what to expect. "The first year, we actually had to prepare more because we weren't familiar with the material," Chen explained. "This year, we already knew all the basic stuff, so we spent a lot more time reviewing things. "We split subjects so that every member of the team specialized in something different," he added. "We did as much research as we could." The teachers who coach the teams work hard, too. In addition to attending "coaching" workshops, they also spend a lot of time encouraging their students and keeping them focused. In fact, the teachers become as absorbed in the competition as the students. Like any competition, those who work hardest typically score the highest, but everybody benefits from the experience. "Everybody gains from being here," said Peggy Lemons, state chairman for the Missouri Envirothon. "Everyone is a winner for going through it. It's like running a marathon. If you finish, you're a winner." The students who compete in the Envirothon come from various backgrounds. About half the kids are from the city, and half are from the country. Some represent big schools, and some are from small schools. Some want to have careers in conservation, but not all. The object of the event, Lemons said, is to give students a background in conservation so they can make informed decisions about it when they're older. "From participating in the Envirothon, I hope they keep the desire to conserve our natural resources," Lemons continued. "Someday these young people will be voters, and I hope this experience helps them to vote responsibly on conservation issues." Like the other students who attended, Yuyng Chen agreed that the Envirothon was a valuable experience, not just for the future, but for the present. "From being a part of this, I have a better understanding of nature and the environment than I did before," Chen said. "A lot of kids don't have that, and I think they should. It's important to be aware of what's going on around you." As a state nationally acclaimed for its dedication to conservation, Missouri will be in the national spotlight when it hosts the 18th annual International Envirothon in 2005. It will be held in Springfield at Southwest Missouri State University.