Any joggers passing through the field at Cary’s Bond Park Friday must have been wondering what all the commotion was for.

More than 300 middle and high school students were spread out across the field, hunched over worksheets, inspecting nearby trees and, in their downtime, stretching out on the grass or rolling down a nearby hill.

The park played host all day to the Area 4 Envirothon, an event leading up to a state competition in late April.

Students took written tests in five categories: soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and current environmental issues.

Winners of the Area 4 Envirothon will proceed to the state event and then possibly the North American competition with all 50 states and eight Canadian provinces. First-place winners in the Area 4 event also receive college scholarships.

Sheila Jones, an environmental education specialist with the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District, said this year’s Area 4 Envirothon, encompassing 11 counties including Wake and Durham, was the biggest yet.

She said the Envirothon appeals to all types of students, not just the science geeks.

“Envirothon’s different. They’re outside digging in the dirt, hiking the stream,” Jones said. “This is the way learning really should be.”

Sarah Mazza, a 2007 Green Hope High graduate and current environmental studies major at UNC-Chapel Hill, participated in the Envirothon for two years in high school and came back this year to help out.

“The competition gets pretty intense,” Mazza said. “Green Hope had a constant competition with Enloe.”

Students in groups of five were given 25 minutes to complete 25 written questions at each station.

Groups had clever names like Green Hope High’s “Muddy Boots” team or the “Killer Kudzu” from the N.C. School of Science and Math in Durham.

“We haven’t had to censor too many of them,” laughed Jones.

Mainly, the focus of the Envirothon is environmental education and to get students thinking more about the world they live in and how they impact it.

“They’re going to make choices every day that impact the planet,” Jones said.

At the end of the event, students were given water-saving kits and tree seedlings to celebrate Arbor Day on March 21.

“We’re trying to give them action items,” Jones said. “You can’t just stand there pointing the finger, or you’ll have three more pointing right back at you.”