Two CCHS Envirothon teams headed to state on May 15

The Cook County High School Envirothon group at ISD 166 is off to a great start this year. The group of 10 students who were split into two teams of five competed in a regional competition in Cloquet, Minn., in early May. Of the 29 teams represented at the regional event, the two Cook County High School Envirothon teams placed 1st and 4th.

The two teams are now heading to the Minnesota State Envirothon competition in Fergus Falls on May 15.

The Envirothon coach April Wahlstrom said that both teams have “worked really hard and they polished their presentations” to prepare for the state competition. “So we’ll be ready for the state.”

Each year, the Envirothon teams are given a local, regional, or national environmental challenge to research and develop solutions. The 2023 challenge for Envirothon teams was to develop solutions for a small town to prepare for resiliency to climate change. Many of the students pinpointed solutions that included reducing the urban heat island index, installing green roofs, improving building insulation to reduce energy loss, reducing greenhouse gases, and much more.

The 2023 Envirothon team members are Grace Blomberg, Iylla Christiansen, Emma Crook, Kalina Dimitrova, Wren Ferry, Ruby Gulstrand, Zoe Kacures, Knut Remmen, Finnley Taylor, Genevieve Silence, Frances Surbaugh, and MJ Wharton.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with four of the ten students before leaving for the state competition. Audio from the interviews is below.

Kalli Hawkins May 13, 2023