At the Area V Envirothon Competition held at Holiday Lake 4-H Center April 21, Fuqua School, representing the Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District, took first place. The second- place winner, Buckingham County High School, represented the Peter Francisco Soil & Water Conservation District. Halifax High School, representing Halifax Soil & Water Conservation District, took third place. 

The Virginia Envirothon, a recognized outreach program supported by the state legislature in code, is a natural resources competition through which high school students around the commonwealth compete by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. In preparation for the event, teams of students spend the year studying soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife and a current specific environmental issue. Students also apply their knowledge of these topics and problem solving skills through an oral presentation in which they solve real-life environmental problems.  Dominion Resources became the flagship supporter of Virginia’s program beginning with the 2011-12 competition. 

Ten Soil and Water Conservation Districts serve Area V which includes Roanoke, City of Roanoke, Franklin, Henry, Bedford, City of Bedford, Pittsylvania, Amherst, Campbell, Appomattox, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Brunswick, Lunenburg, Charlotte, Nottoway, Prince Edward, Amelia, Buckingham and Cumberland. Each Soil and Water Conservation District can send one team to the area competition from the counties they serve. The top three teams from each of the six conservation district areas will advance to the state competition to be held May 15-16 at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisburg.