FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Maine’s Envirothon Champions from Spruce Mountain High School Qualify for North American Competition
Donations from Central Maine Power and many other local businesses and individuals help pay for the team’s trip to North Carolina.
Jay, Maine – July 24, -- The Spruce Mountain High School Envirothon team will test its wits against other top teams from the U.S., Canada and China as they take part in the North American Envirothon Competition. As part of its extensive preparations for the event, the students and teacher Rob Taylor took an in-depth look at the New England Clean Energy Connect and decided as a group the project is beneficial to Maine.
“CMP is very proud to be sponsoring this group of young, very talented individuals who are heading off to a fantastic competition,” said Herling. “I’m very impressed with their knowledge of the NECEC project and how they looked at the benefits and impacts and came to the conclusion it’s the right thing for us to do. It’s the right thing for our environment and our state.”
The students have been fundraising and local businesses and individuals are contributing to help pay the costs of a trip to the national competition in Raleigh, North Carolina. On Tuesday, Central Maine Power President & CEO Doug Herling met with the team and presented them with a donation of $1,500 on behalf of CMP.
“These kids are going to be adults in 2050. That’s the year everybody is pointing to as to when we will truly feel the impacts of climate change,” said Taylor. “For these kids, 2050 is a real thing. They have to live in that world and when you look at the big picture, they want to take some action.”
Envirothon is North America’s largest high school environmental competition and is sponsored by the National Conservation Foundation. Students learn knowledge and skills in the areas of Forestry, Wildlife, Soils, and Aquatic Ecology in their own backyard, then use that knowledge to solve a problem within a challenging scenario at the competition.
Last year’s team, also from Spruce Mountain, had the best finish ever by a Maine team, placing first in the Aquatic Ecology category and sixth overall. Three members of last year’s team, John Brenner, Hunter Quirrion and Orion Schwab are returning for another run at the title this year.
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About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899, CMP serves approximately 624,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. CMP operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines; over the last decade the company has invested approximately $2.6 billion in Maine system infrastructure. In 2019, CMP was named Large Business of the Year by the Kennebec Valley United Way.
About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $32 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.2 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates 7.1 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, with a presence in 22 states across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,500 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, received a Climate Development Project climate score of “A-,” the top score received in the utilities sector, and has been recognized for two consecutive years by Ethical Boardroom as the North American utility with the “best corporate governance practices.” For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
Media Contact:
Ted Varipatis
Serra Public Affairs
207-415-6182 / ted@serrapublicaffairs.com
