UXBRIDGE — Plans to protect the watershed drew accolades for area high school students at a state competition.

Teams of high school students from Pioneer Valley Regional and Greenfield High Schools placed in the Massachusetts Envirothon last week, including Pioneer Valley’s team taking third place overall.

The competition challenged teams of students from state high schools to devise ways to improve watershed protection and ecosystems in their communities, then present the plans to judges.

The students are judged in several different categories, including forestry, wildlife and current issues, and then are given an overall score at the end. Judges include concerned citizens and industry professionals.

Pioneer Valley Regional School placed third overall during the competition, as well as second in Forestry, third in Wildlife and fourth in Soils.

Greenfield High School placed second in the Current Issue category.

A total of 27 communities in Massachusetts were represented, according to a press release.

For PVRS, students presented a plan for an all-access boardwalk to be installed in the spacious wetlands that surrounds the school, to increase visitors and preventing disturbance of wetlands underneath from foot traffic.

The students presented a rain garden to be planted in the school’s parking lot to reduce storm water run-off, which reduces oils and metals collecting in rain water off the pavement and flowing into ground water, according to PVRS senior Alex Wahlstrom.

The projects were previously awarded GreenWorks grant money from Project Learning Tree, an environmental nonprofit initiative that provides education to youth and funding for environmental improvement projects.

Greenfield students presented to judges their efforts to improve the environment and the area water shed, according to GHS senior Chloe Lunt.

Lunt said members of the school built a trail around Green River and a trail guide for the water shed to teach others about the environment, including beneficial plants and their functions.

The GHS students also presented on the impact rain water has on the storm water system in Greenfield.