The 2026 Maine Envirothon team, the Dirt Divas, represented Maine at the International Envirothon Competition in Mississippi this summer after earning first place at the state competition. The international competition brought together teams from across North America and provided students with an opportunity to apply their environmental knowledge in a new landscape and learn alongside other students and natural resource professionals.

Below, the Dirt Divas share their experience, including what they learned, and some of their favorite memories from the competition.

*Bluff Lake at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge*

The Spruce Mountain High School Envirothon team represented Maine at the 2026 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) International Envirothon held at Mississippi State University from July 19–25. The team took 3rd place overall in the Aquatic Ecology section of the competition with a score of 97/100, missing partial credit on only two questions. The team of juniors Erin Chen, Emma Furka, Natasha McDonald, Aubrey Mitchell, and Jaycie Paine also competed in events including Forestry, Soil and Land Use, Wildlife Management, and this year’s Current Issue, Non-Point Source Pollution. Envirothon is the world’s largest high school environmental science competition, and the 2026 NCF International event featured 42 championship-winning teams from across the US and Canada. While the Maine team did not fare as well in other areas, they are pleased with how much they have learned and are looking forward to learning more next year in the Envirothon program.

Team results, event photos and videos, and study resources are available at: https://envirothon.org/2026-mississippi/

To prepare for the competition, the team and their advisors Rob Taylor and Ken Baker spent time analyzing over 700 pages of resource documents provided by the NCF that described in detail the science behind each of the five Envirothon areas and its application to the complex ecology of Mississippi. The team also solved a practice problem scenario on protecting the Noxubee River near Mississippi State that was developed by Taylor and Baker and presented it to the public in order to prepare for the Current Issue problem scenario portion of the competition. The team received feedback from a number of natural resource professionals here in Maine, which helped them to solve a similar scenario in Mississippi.

Advisor Rob Taylor said, “It was a wonderful week watching this team put into practice the things we have been studying since they won the Maine Envirothon back on May 29th. We have been meeting 3 or 4 days a week all summer to prepare, and have learned a great deal about the natural environment in Mississippi. It is really different from Maine and there was so much to learn. For example, there was only one Mississippi tree found at home on the list of trees the team had to identify and know the life history of. The soil has no glacial till, which makes up most of Maine, and there are many different aquatic and wildlife species.”

*Cypress swamp at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge*

In order to prepare, the team visited the Plymouth Bluff Environmental Education Center in Columbus, MS, on its way to the competition and also visited the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, where they saw wild alligators in a bald cypress swamp. They even photographed the Mississippi State Butterfly, the Spicebush Swallowtail.

“To study the ecology of a faraway place in such detail and then be able to experience it firsthand is a wonderful way to learn,” Taylor added. “I have really enjoyed the last few months working with this team.”

According to team member Jaycie Paine, “This was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire year. The trip taught me that it is not always about winning but rather doing the best you possibly can. A week full of memories that will last a lifetime is far more valuable than a shiny plaque. I am looking forward to competing again next year and applying my experiences in Mississippi to make Envirothon even more special.”

Teammate Natasha McDonald added, “I’m so grateful for this trip, the experience, the learning opportunities, and the people I got to do it with. My favorite memory of the trip was going to the Plymouth Bluff Environmental Education Center before the competition started. This was one of the many ways our advisors helped prepare us for the competition. I found it very helpful to be able to see some of the trees in person, like Loblolly Pine and Bald Cypress, before the competition because learning from pictures is not the same as seeing something up close. This trip has taught me the importance of hard work and given me memories and experiences that I will never forget.”

Team captain Aubrey Mitchell also enjoyed her experience in Mississippi. “I am incredibly proud of my team and beyond grateful for this experience. Every day we learned new skills that we will carry with us into future Envirothon competitions and even our careers. The tests challenged our knowledge and really pushed us to work together, solving complex problems in each of the five areas. Overall, I'd say the most valuable lesson this trip has taught me is the importance of leadership and communication while working alongside my teammates when solving environmental problems. This trip has taught us about discipline and hard work, as well as giving us memories that will last a lifetime.”

The sentiment was echoed by Emma Furka. “Even if we didn’t do as well as we hoped, we still learned so many valuable things over this entire trip. I’m so proud of us all, and I can’t wait to see how we apply our new skills next season.”

Finally, teammate Erin Chen shared how the experience impacted her. “This year has been an unforgettable journey. I am beyond grateful for the amazing team and the best advisors who pushed us through every step of the way. Each day, we were given new knowledge that we could use in the future, whether for classes, future Envirothon events, or even in our future careers. To help us prepare to compete in oral presentation, our advisors had us do a presentation on the Noxubee River and then brought us to see the actual river in Mississippi. They had us present in front of a large crowd so that presenting in front of the judges would feel like a breeze.”

“As an Envirothon advisor I could not be more proud of the students on this team,” said co-advisor Ken Baker. “The students’ level of focus, discipline, and determination has been admirable. As a Biology teacher, I am inspired by the depth of biological and ecological concepts that the students have learned in such a short period of time. The Maine State Envirothon Competition and the National Conservation Foundation’s International Envirothon Competition do a great job of providing material and the motivation to get young people interested and involved with the environment and conservation.”

The team would like to thank all of the sponsors, resource professionals, and organizations that made the trip a reality. Taylor said, “Without the generous support of so many groups and individuals, competing at the international level would not have been possible. We have an incredibly supportive community, and it is appreciated.”

Presentation Day 2026 NCF Envirothon — **Presentation Day at the 2026 NCF International Envirothon Competition**
Team members (left to right): Aubrey Mitchell, Jaycie Paine, Emma Furka, Natasha McDonald, and Erin Chen.

Maine to Mississippi: The Dirt Divas’ Journey