Envirothon
2021 Area 1 Envirothon
Due to COVID-19, the Area 1 and Ohio Envirothons will be held virtually this year. This means that there will be no cost for registration, and no need to travel! If you have not participated in the Envirothon competitions in the past, this is a great way to give it a try and then plan to attend the on-site events in person when we can get back to that.
What is the ENVIROTHON?
The Envirothon is a multi-disciplinary, environmental problem-solving competition. Teams made up of five high school students (grades 9-12) train and compete in the areas of soils, aquatics, wildlife, forestry, and current environmental issues. Students across the state compete at the local level at one of the five Area Envirothons. Each Area has their own competition. The top four teams from each Area Envirothon then go on to compete at the state competition held each year in June for the title of State Envirothon Champion. The winning team will then compete at the national competition, held annually in July in a different state in North America.
Purpose
The Envirothon is a competitive, academic outdoor event for high school students. The program has a number of goals and objectives, including:
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to promote greater awareness of natural resources and environmental issues
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to heighten understanding of the interrelationships between plants, animals, humans and the environment they share
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to increase student interest in further environmental and natural history study
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to celebrate the spirit of competition and excellence
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to encourage young people to become action oriented members of society
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to interest students to explore natural resource environmental careers
By preparing for and participating in the Envirothon, students will develop interpersonal skills by working with other student team members in cooperative decision making and problem solving.
The Envirothon program originated in Pennsylvania in 1979 as a hands-on, outdoor competition to test high school students’ knowledge of natural resources and environmental issues. The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts sponsored it. In 1988, the original name, Enviro-Olympics was changed to Envirothon.
The program has grown every year since the 1988 competition in Pennsylvania when just three states competed to the thirty-two states and three Canadian provinces participating in the 1996 national competition held in Nebraska.
Nova Scotia hosted the 2000 National Envirothon.