'Stewards of the planet’ - Questa High takes first in enviro competition

The Questa Ecocats aren’t a sports team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t take their competition seriously. The team won first place March 17 at Taos County’s Envirothon Regionals. Envirothon is an international competition that tests students chops in topics about the environment and natural resource management — forestry, wildlife, aquatics, soils and a “current topic” that this year is urban and community forestry. Second place went to the Taos High School Earthletes, while third place went to Peñasco High School’s “50 Shades of Green.” Taos’ local Envirothon competition is sponsored by the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District, but draws professional help from many of the local agencies that manage natural resources, including the National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service and others. Lopez said the last week’s day of field tests and oral presentations is really preparation for the three-day state competition in mid-April. All the teams, including a second team from Peñasco, the DHDs, will participate in the New Mexico Envirothon. “We’re beefing up the competition,” he said. Students have been preparing since at least December for the event. Much of what they must do is practical — identifying bird calls, soil types and different species of trees...more