WANTED:

2009 Erie County Envirothon Participants

 

 

WHAT IS THE ENVIROTHON?  The Erie County Envirothon is a unique and exciting program that combines hands-on outdoor experience with natural resource study.  Once a year, high school students interested in outdoor fun and environmental science gather to sharpen their conservation skills and test their knowledge against teams of students from other schools in Erie County.  The students compete to win the highest score in the Envirothon test categories of forestry, aquatics, wildlife, soils and a current environmental topic.  County winners advance to the state level to compete at the New York State Envirothon; state champions proceed to the Canon National Envirothon

 

WHY SHOULD YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE ENVIROTHON?  If you enjoy the outdoors or are considering a career or college major in the natural sciences, the Envirothon is for you!  Not only is the Envirothon a fun, outdoor challenge that brings students from throughout Erie County together, it is a chance for students to connect with and learn from local natural resource professionals.  The Envirothon program encourages student development in teamwork, research, and oral presentation skills, and is a perfect supplement to high school environmental science curriculum.  The winning team of students at the Erie County Envirothon advances to the New York State Envirothon, where there is an opportunity to win college scholarships and meet other county winners from throughout the State.  State Envirothon winners compete in the Canon National Envirothon, where prizes include college scholarship money and Canon products. The Envirothon is an internationally recognized program and compliments college applications and resumes.

 

HOW TO QUALIFY?  High school level students can enter the Envirothon by contacting the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District.  No more than two five-member teams plus one alternate member per team may represent a school.  Teams must have an advisor to help prepare the team for competition and to accompany the team to workshop and competition days. 

 

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE ENVIROTHON?  Teams independently research five Envirothon topics: aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current environmental issue.  The 2008 current issue topic is "Recreational Impacts on Natural Resources."  The Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District provides students with study references for each topic.  Each student on a team specializes in one of the Envirothon categories, so that the amount of information to master is not overwhelming.  All aspects of the Envirothon are completed as a team.  To achieve the highest possible Envirothon score, teams are encouraged to do independent research on the Envirothon topics.   Each team prepares a brief, five-minute oral presentation on the current environmental issue topic.

 

IMPORTANT 2008 ENVIROTHON PROGRAM DATES

·         " March 13, 2009:   Last day to register for the Erie County Envirothon

·         " April 2, 2009:   Envirothon Workshop Day at Elma Village Green

·         " April 30, 2009:  Erie County Envirothon at Elma Village Green

·          " May 27 th – 28th, 2009:  New York State Envirothon, Keuka College (for winning Erie County Envirothon team only)

 

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE ENVIROTHON WORKSHOP DAY?   Registered teams come to the Erie County Envirothon testing site, where educators and local environmental professionals offer informational workshops to help students prepare for testing day.  Each team member attends a different morning training workshop for each Envirothon topic.  For instance, one group member attends a soils workshop, another attends a forestry workshop, etc..  After lunch, the teams regroup to give their oral presentations.  This year’s Envirothon will be held at Chestnut Ridge Park.

 

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE ENVIROTHON COMPETITION?  Student teams from throughout Erie County gather to compete for the highest score in each of the Envirothon testing categories.  The teams rotate through each Envirothon topic station answering test questions.  After test scores are tallied, awards for the top scorers in each Envirothon test topic, oral presentation, and overall score are presented.  The Erie County champions win the privilege of advancing to the State Competition at Keuka College.  The Envirothon competition will be held at Elma Village Green.

 

WHAT NEXT?  Please review the enclosed Envirothon information.  If you plan to participate in the 2009 Erie County  Envirothon please return the completed registration form to the District.  If your school has any questions or would like more information, please call the District at 652-8480.  Hope to see you there!