Odessa High School Wins 2025 Delaware Envirothon Championship

 

Odessa High School FFA and Agriscience Team won the 2025 Delaware Envirothon, breaking Charter School of Wilmington’s 22-year Envirothon winning streak. Left to right are team members Kalena Diaz, Joseph Delaney, Zachary Binnie, Nathaniel Sutton and Keith Schmid /DNREC photo

 

Ends 22-Year Winning Streak by Charter School of Wilmington, Which Takes Second Place in Statewide Environmental Competition

In an historic upset, Odessa High School’s FFA and Agriscience Team broke a 22-year winning streak by Charter School of Wilmington teams to win the 2025 Delaware Envirothon competition Thursday, April 10 at Blackbird State Forest Education Center in Townsend, the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts announced. Charter School of Wilmington’s team CSW Force came in second and Newark Charter School Aquaholics placed third in the Envirothon competition.

Sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the annual environmental education competition is open to high school students statewide. This year, 11 high schools and one 4-H club set a Delaware Envirothon record with a total 22 teams. Appoquinimink High School, Calvary Christian Academy, Charter School of Wilmington, Concord High School, Middletown High School, Milford High School, MOT Charter, Newark Charter High School, Odessa High School, Polytech High School, Smyrna High School, and Peach Blossom 4-H Club fielded teams that worked hard all school year to prepare for the 2025 event.

Each team answered questions, reviewed specimens, and took measurements in topics dealing with aquatic ecology, soils/land use, wildlife, forestry and the current environmental issue of “Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change.” Teams also had to give a seven- to 10-minute oral presentation of a scenario based on the current issue.

After more than three hours of testing, Odessa High School’s FFA and Agriscience Team was crowned the 2025 state champion. The first-place team will represent Delaware at the 2025 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) International Envirothon to be held in Alberta, Canada, from July 20 to 26.

Each member of the winning team earned a $500 scholarship from the Delaware Envirothon and other prizes, including an award plaque for their school. The second through seventh place teams received ribbons and cash prizes in the form of gift cards.

The official results are as follows:

• First place – Odessa High School FFA and Agriscience: Kalena Diaz, Joseph Delaney, Zachary Binnie, Nathaniel Sutton and Keith Schmid
• Second place – Charter School of Wilmington, CSW Force: Arya Anilkumar, Izzy Gorto, Jeshen Kannan, Siddhi Dinavahi, Subiksha Srinivasan Vidya and Anna Huang (Alt.)
• Third place – Newark Charter School Aquaholics: Zahra Ali, Anavi Chintam, Nina Moses, Ritisha Sarbajna, Aaliyah Sheikh, Amanda Mao (Alt.)
• Fourth place – Charter School of Wilmington, CSW Calculators: Aishwarya Reddy, Arya Gupta, Asvika Gobinathan, Eesha Sagiraju, Saasy Bojja and Ashley Liu (Alt.)
• Fifth place – Charter School of Wilmington CSW Lightning: Dharshini Senthil Nathan, Finn Carroll, Raymond Chen, Rujula Borkar, Sambridhi Dhakal and Harshini Kannan (Alt.)
• Sixth place – Newark Charter High School EcoManiacs: Kiyana Bazzelle, Sudipa Chowdhury, Smrithi Shajeev, Sarah Shankar, Ella Zhao, Sarayu Surireddy (Alt.), Zuning Tian (Alt.)
• Seventh place – Calvary Christiana Academy CCA Green Queens: Michelle Thomas, Carolyn Laskey, Tiara Nichols, Callie Bassett and Melissa Haldeman

The Delaware Envirothon is hosted by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD), a voluntary, non-profit association that coordinates conservation efforts statewide to focus on natural resource issues identified by Delaware’s three local districts.

In addition to DNREC, major sponsors include the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Sussex Conservation District, the Kent Conservation District, and the New Castle Conservation District, along with many other smaller donors.

More information about the annual event can be found at delawareenvirothon.org.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov 

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