A group of students from West Hill Secondary School in Owen Sound is hoping the fourth time is the charm.
Teacher Carl Raynard and five students are competing at the Canon Envirothon North American championships in Arizona this week.
The team has won the Ontario championship four times but never the North American title.
Student Meghan Allerton says they have been studying the environment specific to Arizona in preparation for the event — which wraps up on Sunday.
She expects some tough competition — but is excited about the challenge.
Allerton also looks forward to meeting some of the other 250 students at the Envirothon — and bringing back friendships that will last a lifetime.
Canon is the title sponsor of the competition and Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Wayne Doyle says there are more than 50 teams at the event.
Doyle says these students are among the best at their high schools but never grab the headlines because they never get into trouble.
Doyle says the West Hill team is always one of the most entertaining and energetic.
He adds the students take the lessons they learn in the competition through the rest of their lives.
As part of the Canon Envirothon — each student has one specialty at five outdoor stations and they make a presentation to a set of judges.
More than 500 thousand students take part in provincial and state competitions every year.
Each student from the first place team will win a 5 thousand dollar scholarship to use towards post secondary school.
The top 10 teams will win awards.
