For the third year in a row, the Hudson High School Envirothon team is getting ready to compete in the New York State Envirothon. It will be Hudson’s seventh appearance at the statewide competition in the past 11 years, although this year’s event will be moved to an online format.
The team of five (pictured below) meets virtually twice a week to practice for Envirothon, which will test their knowledge of state aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and current environmental issues. They are quizzed on a variety of topics by their adviser, Mr. McDarby.
Pictured (clockwise from top left): Arianna Camacho, Bishwakrit Rayamajhi, Fahim Ahmed, Reagan Schlimgen, Kyle Farley and Jim McDarby
“We were glad to hear the state competition would happen online even though the Hudson Valley Regional Envirothon was canceled,” said Mr. McDarby, who teaches Science at HHS. “The committee decided to allow last year’s regional champions to advance, meaning our team gets to compete in the 2020 state finals.”
Team members Fahim Ahmed, Arianna Camacho, Kyle Farley, Bishwakrit Rayamajhi and Reagan Schlimgen are excited at the opportunity.
“It’s exciting because this will be a new type of competition that no one has ever competed in,” said Rayamajhi, a 10th grade student at HHS.
“As an Envirothon team we have worked very hard for a long time,” said Camacho, also a Hudson sophomore. “Our goal is always to do the best we can in the competition, and the fact that we have the privilege of going to states this year is very rewarding.”
Hudson has a history of success at Envirothon events. Last year, Hudson came in 6th place out of 46 teams from across the state and earned the highest score in the Wildlife category.
The 2020 NYS Envirothon online competition will take place May 28.
Mr. McDarby quizzes the team on New State mammals and other environmental topics.