FARMINGTON — In a drenching, cold rain, local high school students competed in the Southwestern Regional Envirothon at Marble Farm on Thursday. Teams from Jay and Dixfield schools took top honors.

The Envirothon is a natural-resource, problem-solving competition for grades nine to 12. Teams of four or five tested their knowledge of forestry, soils, wildlife, aquatics and sustainable agriculture.

A team from Spruce Mountain High School in Jay took first place and a team from Dirigo High School in Dixfield took second, said Rosetta Thompson of the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District. Both teams will compete in the state meet later this month.

The Maine Envirothon has taken place for about 20 years, Thompson said. 

Each team is given five minutes to present on a topic, said Josh Platt, state Envirothon coordinator. For this portion only, they are allowed to create visuals, including poster boards.

Team members from Leavitt Area High School in Turner arrived early to set up their board.

“We’ve prepared for about half the school year,” Kelsey Cassela said. The team, which includes Alex Allaire, Tim Michaud, Larissa Desrosiers and alternate Nick Child, is coached by Sharon Hathaway and Mary Briggs.

Hathaway teaches a class on agricultural awareness, she said.

Teams rotate from station to station, performing hands-on and written tests. At the soils station, students from Spruce Mountain High School interpreted soil in a pit dug for that purpose.

If they want to build a home or farm in the future, it will help them know about the types of soil and what each is good for, said Dave Wilkinson of Buckfield, a soil scientist for the Natural Resources Conservation Services and an Envirothon judge.

Richard and Weslene Marble and their son, Andrew, and his wife, Sarah, opened their farm on Holley Road to the competition. They said the fifth-generation farm has gone from dairy to beef and mixed vegetables.

“We’ve learned to add value to our products,” Richard Marble said. “For instance, we take raw tomatoes and make salsa. You can make money in farming; you just have to do it right.”

The winners of the four regional Envirothons will compete for the state title May 30 in Augusta. The state winner will have a special weekend in Maine, because there is not enough money to send them to the national competition, state Envirothon coordinator Platt said.

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