Here at Bob Jones, we make it our business not only to impress, but also to improve.

On January 23, the EnviroBowl Squad accomplished both of these goals with flying colors, as they claimed first place in the Florence Regional EnviroBowl, making quite the come back from their second place claim at last year’s competition.

Members of the EnviroBowl Squad include Siddhu Srikakolapu, Nathan Fox, Seth Johnston, Alan Philip George, and Ashley Dong. As Mr.Johnston, faculty adviser to the team, proudly states, “These guys are ridiculously smart!”

Kudos certainly goes out to the EnviroBowl Squad, but many are wondering: What exactly IS EnviroBowl? Founded in 1993 by Alabama Department of Environmental Management representative Gavin Adams, EnviroBowl serves as a means to inspire environmental education and awareness within the state of Alabama.

The majority of the questions originate from the state-recognized core sections (biology, chemistry, physical science, and physics) while the rest are taken from elective subjects (zoology, earth and space, botany, aqua science, marine biology, environmental science, and geology). Extensive knowledge of the natural world is essential to winning this competition. In an effort to keep the competition modernized, questions involving current discoveries and events are encouraged with undeniable enthusiasm.

Several changes have been made to the structure of the competition throughout the years. Presently, the State EnviroBowl is composed of three qualifiers from each regional tournament. As an added incentive to go for the gold, the state offers a $1,000 scholarship to one senior competitor from each region to the Alabama college of their choice.

In a world fraught with environmental dilemmas and challenges, programs such as these are not only beneficial in keeping our generation aware and informed, but also in promoting the importance of creative solutions.  As the EnviroBowl Squad paves the way for the rest of us, their win at Regional’s has certainly placed the relevance of environmental consciousness under the Bob Jones microscope.