The typical Envirothon meeting is just like a regular class. However, this past week’s Envirothon meeting was like a combination of a science fair and art show.

Envirothon is a environmental science club, which focuses on preparing for the Envirothon competition, sponsored by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

“Usually every week we have different groups give lectures on their topics,” said senior and president Meigan Mcmanus. Each meeting, two groups give PowerPoint presentations on their topics while the other members listen and take notes.

“It’s kind of like science class except we teach it,” said sophomore Emily Nesbitt.

This week, however, there was a change in the meeting format. Instead of PowerPoint lectures, two groups made visual presentations on different aspects of their topics.

“They were asked to develop art projects to make it more hands on,” said McManus.

A different presentation was held in each corner of the room, complete with models, posters and props. Projects ranged from a mini tree to samples of dirt to a model of the layers of the ocean. The members who weren’t presenting moved from station to station while frantically taking notes.

“My favorite part of the meetings are when other people understand the material,” said McManus. “We will definitely do this more in the future”.

“[The club was started because] our school is competitive. We have a lot of academic
competitions and the kids seem to enjoy them,” explained teacher sponsor Ms. Deanna DenHartog.