Background on the Minnesota Envirothon
The Envirothon is an outdoor environmental
learning competition for high school students. Area competitions are
administered by the state's Soil and Water Conservation Districts, in
partnership with conservation organizations, educators, and other natural
resource agencies.
The Envirothon promotes a desire for students
to learn more about Minnesota's natural resources, as well as public policy and
roles of government and landowners in managing the state's resources. The
program helps students develop critical thinking skills, cooperative
problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills.
Schools and teachers benefit by providing a
learning opportunity to students who excel in the sciences and ecology. The
community and state benefit by having concerned and well-informed citizens who
can make good decisions about the environment.
Teams of students compete by visiting five
learning stations and taking a 20-point exam on an environmental topic. The
topics are:
The exams are administered by a local natural
resource professional, who also gives the students a brief overview of the topic
and explains some of the core concepts. Teams also prepare and give an oral
presentation on the current events topic.
Teams compete at an Area Envirothon, and the
top 3 teams from each area advance to the State Envirothon.
Junior Envirothon
Many areas also have a Junior Envirothon for
students in grades 6-8. Participating students go to all of the same learning
stations, but they do not give an oral presentation. Please contact your local
Envirothon contact to find out if there is a Junior Envirothon in your area.
History
The Envirothon program started in 1979 in
Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts sponsored
the program as an outdoor hands-on competition. Minnesota held its first
Envirothon in 1993 with 100 students from the Twin Cities area participating.
The following year, several Soil and Water Conservation Districts organized area
competitions. By 1996, all districts held area competitions. Now, nearly 1,000
students participate throughout the state. |
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