The University of Chicago Laboratory School’s Envirothon team capped its school year by taking first place in the Illinois Envirothon competition held April 26 and 27 at 4-H Memorial Camp in Monticello, Illinois. This win followed their 1st place finish, among 35 teams, in the Northeastern Illinois Envirothon competition that was held at Danada House in Wheaton, Illinois on April 6.

Envirothon is an educational competition where high school teams, comprised of 5 students, compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management.

The teams exercise their training and problem-solving skills in a competition centered on five testing categories including soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry and wildlife and a current environmental issue. The current issue changes each year with Agricultural Soil & Water Conservation Stewardship being the topic for 2017.

The team, coached by UChicago Labs educator Daniel Calleri, competed at the National Envirothon, July 23 to July 29 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.