Two Northampton Area High School students were named the winners of the Bertsch, Hokendauqua, Catasauqua Watershed Association scholarship competition.

Kennedy Bigelow was named the first-place winner, and Alex Tews won second place.

The contest was open to all college-bound high school seniors in the Northampton and Catasauqua area school districts.

Applicants were required to write an essay on the following topic: “Plastic pollution in the oceans is a well-known and growing problem. Microplastics have also been documented in freshwater surface streams and groundwater. Define microplastics. What are the implications of these contaminants for human and animal health?”

The association was founded in 2009 to promote the stewardship, protection, enhancement and restoration of the Bertsch, Hokendauqua and Catasauqua watersheds and their tributaries to the Lehigh River.