A team of St. Albert Catholic High students will compete for a global eco-championship this summer after taking the top prize at the Alberta Envirothon.
St. Albert Catholic High students Addison Evoy, Kian Horb, Kailen Korotash, Emily Pillott, and Steph Snyman took first place at the 2025 Alberta Envirothon.
Held May 7-9 at Vermillion’s Lakeland College, the Alberta Envirothon saw 15 teams from across Alberta use their scientific skills to complete challenges related to forestry, aquatic ecology, soil sampling, wildlife, and climate change.
The SACHS squad (one of two from the school at this year’s event) earned a banner, a large trophy made from a chunk of a tree, and $1,500 for their win. They also advanced to the international NCF–Envirothon being held this July in Calgary.
Organized by the National Conservation Foundation, the Envirothon is billed as North America’s largest high school environmental education competition. Some 25,000 students from Canada, China, Singapore, and the U.S. compete at regional events each year, with top teams battling it out at the international NCF-Envirothon for thousands of dollars in prizes.
Snyman said he and his teammates felt confident going into the Alberta Envirothon, but new they were also up against some stiff competition. They beat the runner-up at the event by just 0.5 points. (Teams were awarded points based on practical tests and an oral presentation, the latter of which was prepared in advance.)
“We’re just really grateful and humbled by the experience,” he said.
Natural scientists
Squads from SACHS have placed in the top three at the Alberta Envirothon in each of the last three years, with one advancing to the NCF-Envirothon in 2023, said SACHS Envirothon coach Neil Korotash. To prepare, students typically meet every week to practise tasks and topics they might have to address at the competition, such as measuring a tree’s height or identifying animals from their footprints.
Snyman said he and his teammates decided to each specialize in a different field of knowledge in the lead-up to provincials. They also spent many hours preparing their oral presentation, during which they had to explain how they would create a sustainability plan for a 10-hectare forest pressured by global heating. (Their solution involved boardwalks to prevent erosion, beavers to create fish habitat, and GIS mapping to track caribou.)
Snyman said the team plans to keep training in the weeks to come in preparation for the international Envirothon.
“We have a bit of a home-ground advantage,” he said, in that the competition will be based on Alberta’s forests under climate change, but they would also be going up against the best teams from Canada, the U.S., China, and Singapore.
Korotash said the Envirothon gives students a chance to explore new careers and learn about climate change and environmental research. Several of his past students have gone on to become foresters or soil scientists because of their experiences at this event.
Snyman said the Envirothon is a great way to meet students from across the province.
“The connections you build there are the things that stay with you for a lifetime.”
The 2025 NCF-Envirothon runs July 20-26 at Calgary’s Mount Royal University. Visit envirothon.org/2025-alberta for details.
