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:
- Aquatics,
- Forestry,
- Soils,
- Wildlife, and
- Current events, which is a new topic each year.
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 in one of 10 Area Envirothons, and the top 3 teams from each area advance to the State Envirothon. The winning team at the State Envirothon advances to the Canon Envirothon and competes against teams from across the USA and Canada.
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.
2011 State Envirothon contacts:
Judy Johnston, Stevens SWCD, judy.johnston@stevensswcd.org, www.maswcd.org/envirothon
2010 Results
- Summary of the 2009 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2008 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2007 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2006 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2005 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2004 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2003 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2002 State Envirothon
- Summary of the 2001 State Envirothon
A look of the State Envirothon winners since 1994
