WKU News

Caption: L-R Veronica Johnson, Caleb Stickney, Keeley Ruskowski, Aaron Kirtland, Olivia Bickett

Five students from The Gatton Academy took 1st place in the Kentucky Envirothon competition. The Gatton Academy's team, sponsored by the Warren County Conservation District, will now compete in Maryland at the North American Envirothon contest in late July.  

Members of The Gatton Academy’s team include:

• Olivia Bickett (’18) from Owensboro and Apollo High School
• Aaron Kirtland (’17) from Crestwood and South Oldham High School
• Veronica Johnson (’17) from Bowling Green and Bowling Green High School
• Keeley Ruskowski (’18) from Hardinsburg and Breckinridge County High School
• Caleb Stickney (’17) from Irvine and Estill County High School

The Envirothon Competition is a nationwide competition for high school students who have a passion for natural sciences, resources and the environment.  It consists of extensive tests on soils, aquatics, wildlife, forestry and a current issue.  This year’s current issue was soil and water conservation stewardship.  

In addition to the tests, the students also prepare and present a 10-minute oral presentation over the current issue.   All five members of the team compete as one while moving from station to station where they complete hands-on experiments and use analysis and critical thinking skills.

The Gatton team scored the highest overall among the 50 high school teams present on the Oral Presentation, Current Issue, Forestry, Wildlife and Aquatics exams at the state Envirothon competition.

“The Warren County Conservation District would like to congratulate the Gatton team for their hard work and dedication to the competition,” says Penny Warwick, Conservation Technician with the Warren County Conservation District, who assisted with coaching the team throughout the year.

For more information, please contact the Warren County Conservation District at (270)-843-1111 ext. 6335 or The Gatton Academy at (270)-745-2971.

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential high school for gifted and talented junior and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematical careers. The Gatton Academy has been named to the Washington Post’s list of top-performing schools with elite students for nine consecutive years and was named the number one public high school in the United States by The Daily Beast for three consecutive years – 2012, 2013 and 2014.