WANTED:

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; New York State champions proceed to the NCF- 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 and winners of the New York State Envirothon compete in the NCF- Envirothon. There is an opportunity at all levels to win prizes including scholarship money. The Envirothon is an internationally recognized program and compliments college applications and resumes. For more information on the Envirothon go to www.nysenvirothon.net

HOW TO ENROLL? High school level students can enter the Envirothon by contacting the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District. Registration material must be completed and sent in for each participating school. Teams consist of five members. 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. 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.

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.

WHAT HAPPENS AT 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.

WHAT NEXT? Please review the enclosed Envirothon information.- If your school or group has any additional questions or would like more information, please call Melanie Saunders at 652-8480 X5.-