GENEVA - Toby Heavenrich can tell if a bite mark on a leaf was left by a rabbit or a porcupine.
He recognizes a red-eyed vireo on hearing its melodic whistle, and can distinguish the types of plants found in the nests of muskrats and beavers.
An encyclopedic knowledge of birds and mammals, their habitats and their role in the ecosystem is one of the strengths the 17-year-old senior from Candor, N.Y., brings this week to the Envirothon, an environmental contest for high schools across Canada and the United States.
A mix of written quizzes, oral presentations and outdoor testing stations, the six-day competition evaluates 52 teams from 43 states and nine Canadian provinces on their grasp of forestry, land use and soils, aquatics, wildlife and this year's wild-card topic: alternative and renewable energy.
Candor, a mainly agricultural town of 5,200 people 20 miles south of Ithaca, has represented New York six times since the continentwide Envirothon - which Canon Inc. now backs with $100,000 in annual scholarship prizes - was launched in 1988.
Heavenrich and his four state championship teammates, who have been cramming for months late into the evening, make the most of living within easy reach of open country.
“We'll go out sometimes as a group and just walk through the woods and identify trees based on characteristics,” he said. “There's always more ways to identify trees than you can even list. ... It's not the best team that wins, it's the best-prepared team.”
Wanting to know more about safeguarding the environment is a common impulse for competitors. Rather than merely an earth-bonding exercise, Envirothon explores how best to manage natural resources, and can launch a career - in biology, farming, urban planning - or a lifelong hobby like birding or hiking.
“We try to instill stewardship of our land and all of our resources,” said Envirothon's executive director, Clay Burns.
“Even if they do not enter the science field,” Burns said, the youngsters will know that conservation can extend into everyday life, from someday installing energy-saving photovoltaic panels in their homes to correctly using herbicides and pesticides “to grow the nicest, environmentally safe lawn.”
Anchored at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a liberal-arts campus in Geneva, the grueling contest included field trips in the Finger Lakes region to identify birds by song, animals by their furry pelts or tracks, the texture of soils in a deep pit and the levels of salinity and acidity in water samples.
The weightiest challenge comes Friday, the final day, when each team must give an oral presentation on a renewable energy problem handed out the day before.
Steven Trinidad, 16, a junior at Candor High whose expertise is fish, reptiles and aquatic species, said the contest has broadened not only his general knowledge and his work ethic but “my presentation skills have improved immensely.
“I've learned more in Envirothon than I have in any class,” Trinidad said. “A lot of it has to do with best management practices. They want you to come up with plans or solutions to a problem, what's good, what's not.”
Spencer Hunt, a teacher for 34 years who stayed on as Candor's adviser after retiring in 2001, has led the team most recently to three straight state championships - and influenced many young minds.
Heavenrich's experience has convinced him that environmental quandaries like global warming can be successfully tackled.
“I think probably the greatest thing about humanity is our ability to adapt, and all we need to do right now is adapt to new methods,” with people everywhere “just doing their part,” he said. “You can do little things, or pressure Congress to do things and, bit by bit, stuff will get done to help the environment.
“One thing I've always been interested in is designing cool-looking vehicles - helicopters, planes, cars,” he added. “After taking chemistry classes and Envirothon, it's making me more interested in the engineering aspects of incorporating maybe different ways of powering these vehicles, such as fuel cells. I'm definitely going to be looking into that.”
On the Net:
Canon Envirothon: www.envirothon.org
An encyclopedic knowledge of birds and mammals, their habitats and their role in the ecosystem is one of the strengths the 17-year-old senior from Candor, N.Y., brings this week to the Envirothon, an environmental contest for high schools across Canada and the United States.
A mix of written quizzes, oral presentations and outdoor testing stations, the six-day competition evaluates 52 teams from 43 states and nine Canadian provinces on their grasp of forestry, land use and soils, aquatics, wildlife and this year's wild-card topic: alternative and renewable energy.
Candor, a mainly agricultural town of 5,200 people 20 miles south of Ithaca, has represented New York six times since the continentwide Envirothon - which Canon Inc. now backs with $100,000 in annual scholarship prizes - was launched in 1988.
Heavenrich and his four state championship teammates, who have been cramming for months late into the evening, make the most of living within easy reach of open country.
“We'll go out sometimes as a group and just walk through the woods and identify trees based on characteristics,” he said. “There's always more ways to identify trees than you can even list. ... It's not the best team that wins, it's the best-prepared team.”
Wanting to know more about safeguarding the environment is a common impulse for competitors. Rather than merely an earth-bonding exercise, Envirothon explores how best to manage natural resources, and can launch a career - in biology, farming, urban planning - or a lifelong hobby like birding or hiking.
“We try to instill stewardship of our land and all of our resources,” said Envirothon's executive director, Clay Burns.
“Even if they do not enter the science field,” Burns said, the youngsters will know that conservation can extend into everyday life, from someday installing energy-saving photovoltaic panels in their homes to correctly using herbicides and pesticides “to grow the nicest, environmentally safe lawn.”
Anchored at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a liberal-arts campus in Geneva, the grueling contest included field trips in the Finger Lakes region to identify birds by song, animals by their furry pelts or tracks, the texture of soils in a deep pit and the levels of salinity and acidity in water samples.
The weightiest challenge comes Friday, the final day, when each team must give an oral presentation on a renewable energy problem handed out the day before.
Steven Trinidad, 16, a junior at Candor High whose expertise is fish, reptiles and aquatic species, said the contest has broadened not only his general knowledge and his work ethic but “my presentation skills have improved immensely.
“I've learned more in Envirothon than I have in any class,” Trinidad said. “A lot of it has to do with best management practices. They want you to come up with plans or solutions to a problem, what's good, what's not.”
Spencer Hunt, a teacher for 34 years who stayed on as Candor's adviser after retiring in 2001, has led the team most recently to three straight state championships - and influenced many young minds.
Heavenrich's experience has convinced him that environmental quandaries like global warming can be successfully tackled.
“I think probably the greatest thing about humanity is our ability to adapt, and all we need to do right now is adapt to new methods,” with people everywhere “just doing their part,” he said. “You can do little things, or pressure Congress to do things and, bit by bit, stuff will get done to help the environment.
“One thing I've always been interested in is designing cool-looking vehicles - helicopters, planes, cars,” he added. “After taking chemistry classes and Envirothon, it's making me more interested in the engineering aspects of incorporating maybe different ways of powering these vehicles, such as fuel cells. I'm definitely going to be looking into that.”
On the Net:
Canon Envirothon: www.envirothon.org
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