Watershed contest spurs District 6 high school students to become scientific innovators

Student teams from District 6 have been announced as seven out of the 10 project finalists for the regional Caring for Our Watersheds environmental program.

Caring for Our Watersheds is sponsored by Agrium, a worldwide producer and retailer of fertilizers and other agricultural products and services. The program challenges high schools students to think about their local watersheds and how they can protect this most essential environmental asset. Either individually or as a team, students research their local watershed, identify an environmental concern, and develop a potential solution.

For the first time this year the program was expanded outside of Canada, where it originated. Greeley was chosen as the host site, with support from the Poudre Learning Center and the High Plains Environmental Center.

More than 240 students from high schools in Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland entered the contest, writing 1,000-word essays explaining their research on the Cache La Poudre or the Big Thompson watersheds, describing the environmental issues and their proposed solutions, and outlining implementation budgets for their ideas.

Their essays were judged this month, and 10 finalists were selected. The finalists are now preparing a five-minute verbal presentation to give before a panel of judges April 2 at the University of Northern Colorado’s University Center. The presentations begin at 3 p.m. and are open to the public.

Awards will be announced later that evening at a dinner for the finalists and their parents. Agrium will give cash awards to the top schools and students, and has also committed to help implement winning ideas.

Learn more about the Caring for Our Watersheds program at www.caringforourwatersheds.com

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