Students from schools throughout Carbon County attended classes in an outdoor setting Wednesday at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill.

The classes were unique in that they learned about such things as forests and wildlife instead of English and math. None of their usual teachers were allowed to attend the classes.

It was the 30th annual Envirothon, during which environmental teams competed against each other on their knowledge of the environment. The teams l gave themselves nicknames based on science, names like the Palmerton Puffies, Geological Geniuses, Jumping Armadillos, The Dorc Side, Killer Krabs and Nasty Narwhals.

Members of the Donasaurs were Katrin Cavanaugh, Andrew Bosi, Aurora VanAuken and Andrew Warner.

A team from L.B. Morris Elementary School got a second-place plaque. On that team were David Richards, Christina Bradley, Hannah Sommers, James Tadden and Darcy Leight.

The Envirothon groups were taught by naturalists from various agencies. The event was coordinated by Jeannie Carl, a naturalist at the environmental center.

Others who participated included Beth Sheckler, aquatics; Steve Ziegler and Mike Walker of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Franklin Klock of the environmental center, who educated the students on wildlife; and Luke Graver of the Carbon County Conservation District who spoke about soils.

The students competed in groups of five. Teams were tested on their knowledge of the environment, with their test scores compiled and compared with other teams.

Although teachers accompanied the students to the Envirothon, they were made to sit on the sidelines while the students took turns visiting stations consisting of the various topics.

The event was sponsored by Lions Club District 14-U, Region II.

Susan Gallagher, chief naturalist, at the Environmental Center, said the Envirothon is not merely familiarizing students with environmental topics.

“We’re always happy to see students who come here prepared ahead of time,” she said. “We’re glad to see them take it seriously.”

She said the District Lions organization covers most of the expenses of the Envirothon, with the state Envirothon committee also providing some funding.

“One of the nice things is by going to different stations, they meet people from different agencies,” Gallagher said, noting that they then learn about the functions of those agencies.

Among the items at Klock’s station on wildlife was a stuffed animal. He had the students guess from multiple choice questions what it was. It was a muskrat.

Graver showed and explained various soil types.

Mikayla Yuricheck of the Panther Valley Intermediate School said, “We learned a lot of stuff.”

She enjoyed the segment on aquatics.

“It was definitely fun,” said Owen Hidell of Palmerton Middle School. “It was learning.”

The Envirothon began Monday with second and third grades. On Tuesday, fourth and fifth grades competed, with grades 9 through 12 competing today.