The Envirothon is a program for 9th-12th grade students to learn more about our natural environment. The contest tests a student's knowledge on subjects such as soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range, current environmental issues and one area of national interest.
The Envirothon began in Pennsylvania in the spring of 1979. High school teachers and youth leaders recognized the value of the Envirothon as a means of strengthening the environmental awareness of young people, and the program spread to many other states and countries. Nebraska held its first Envirothon in 1992.
The Envirothon experience is a unique approach to environmental education. Five-member teams compete in a setting where they learn that cooperation is needed to achieve success. Participation in this unique event can be great fun for both students and their advisors. The activities are designed to help the students become environmentally aware, action-oriented adults.
Each year several regional Envirothon contests are held across Nebraska. The winning five-member team from each regional competition is invited to represent their region at the Nebraska State Envirothon Competition. An additional 8 wildcard teams are also invited. The state champion goes on to represent Nebraska at the Canon Envirothon.
Information dates, and other resources are available on the Nebraska Envirothon website.
Local High Schoolers Compete in 2018 Natural Resources Competition put on by Natural Resources Districts (NRDs)
The Upper Loup NRD would like to congratulate Mullen High School’s Envirothon Team on qualifying for the state competition. This is Mullen’s first appearance at the State Envirothon. Members include Liddy Vinton, Brittney Emerson, Brodie Baum, Morgan Rice, and Jessica Starr. Team members have interests in soils, range, and aquatics. The team is made up of Mullen FFA members that have experience competing in Agronomy and Range Judging. Good luck Mullen Envirothon Team!
(Scottsbluff, NE) Seventy high school students from across Nebraska are preparing to compete in the 25th annual Nebraska Envirothon on Wednesday, April 26th at the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in Gering, NE. Media is welcome to attend.
The natural resources competition tests high school students' knowledge of Nebraska’s natural resources on topics of soil, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range and policy. The competition also gives students an opportunity to create a proactive plan to solve an agricultural soil and water problem in Nebraska.
The Nebraska Envirothon demonstrates that no matter how young or old you may be, you can always make a difference in protecting people’s lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources.
“I’m always impressed with the knowledge and insight these students bring to this competition,” said Jim Johnson, Information and Education Committee chairman of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Board of Directors. “It’s students like these that will make a positive impact in this world as we continue to conserve our natural resources.”
Teams consist of five members. Each team first competed in one of seven regional contests around the state. The winners of each region and the next seven overall highest scoring wildcard teams get the opportunity to compete at the state level. Test questions are not only written, but many require hands-on observations, measurements and calculations at the test sites.
This year there will be 12 schools and 14 teams competing at the State Envirothon. High schools participating are: Southern Valley, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (SEM), Sidney, Norris, Ord, Concordia Team 1 and Team 2, Pender, St. Paul, Mullen, Burwell, Millard South, Aurora and Arapahoe High School.
The winning team will receive recognition from the NARD Foundation. They will then compete in the NCF Envirothon in July in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The NARD is the annual sponsor of the Nebraska
Envirothon. The winning team receives $1,500 to go to their Envirothon program, second place receives $1,000 and third place receives $500. Each team member on the winning team is also awarded a $500 scholarship by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to be used towards a major in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the university.
Other sponsors and supporters for this year’s Envirothon include: Smithfields Foods’ Omaha, Lincoln and Crete campuses, FYRA Engineering, Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), Midwest Laboratories, Nebraska Forest Service, Farm Credit Services of America, Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, HDR, Olsson Associates, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, FFA Foundation and University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources.
Please call Jeanne Dryburgh’s cell or Dave Wolf’s cell on April 26 and April 27 as she won’t be in the office those days. She’ll be at Wildcat Hills Recreation Area at 210615 NE-71, Gering, NE 69341. Again, her cell number is 402-416-5245. Or you can contact Dave Wolf, Public Relations Specialist for the North
Platte Natural Resources District at 308-660-5830.