The Newton North Envirothon Team, winners of the state championships in May, has gone on to place second in — not just the nation — but all of North America!
Here’s an email North science teacher Anndy Dannenberg, the team’s
faculty advisor, sent this evening to some of the people who helped fund the team’s travels to the finals in Bozeman, Montana…
I am overjoyed to let you know that the our team, representing Massachusetts at the North American Envirothon competition in Bozeman, finished SECOND PLACE overall!
Kaija Gahm and the team took first in wildlife, and they shared a first place finish in the current issue (rangeland management) field station. Eliana Gevelber and the team took second in forestry, Kavish Gandhi propelled the group to a third in soils, and Ying Gao led the envirogeeks to a fourth in water. Malini Gandhi, team captain, spearheaded the group’s excellent current issue presentation and held the team together all year with her superlative leadership, smarts, and organizational skills.
In addition to their academic prowess, the team was a paragon of sportsmanship, collegiality, collaboration, and friendliness. I was amazed by the good humor they exhibited even in the tensest moments of the week, and the genuine joy they showed for the successes of their competitors.
They were great ambassadors of the Commonwealth, and with their peers from 56 other states and Canadian provinces, gave us in the older generations great hope for the future of our society and our planet.
Thank you all for your time and support of the team as they prepared to and went to the competition. We are all enormously appreciative, and couldn’t have done it without you.
–Anndy Dannenberg
I’ve only met Kaija and Malini; they are great kids and I share Ann’s sentiment of feeling hope for the future with students like them going out into the world! Congratulations to all of them!
I’m deeply impressed with the Envirothon concept and our team’s performance. This experience could very well dictate the career choices they make for the future and I just hope they have the chance to take charge of things while there’s still time to avert a range of interrelated environmental threats to the planet.
Congratulations to the whole Envirothon team and to team captain Malini Gandhi and faculty advisor Anndy Dannenberg who both inspired and led the team by their example. And a warm round of applause to the parents and supporters who helped fund the trip to the finals in Bozeman, MT. You all give us hope for the future of our planet!
As a team parent, I second Anndy Dannenberg’s heartfelt thanks to the team’s supporters, including the Newton Tree Conservancy and Newton forester Marc Welch, who generously worked with the team, as well as the local businesses who provided funds and publicity for the trip to Montana. The kids worked so hard, and it’s been a wonderful experience for all of us.
I worked with team member Kavish Gandhi during this past school year on the Upper Falls Live History Map project. He and his teammates on that project (Adam Elghazzawi and Alex Slocum) were just great to work with – bright, industrious, energetic and always ready to dive in over their heads to learn something new.
It looks like Kavish is a really busy guy.