In 1979 Pennsylvania created the Environmental Olympics. By 1987 grew in size and became the Enviro-Olympics. With other states' interest, in 1988 it became the Envirothon. In 1992 Canada joined in; 1999 it became the Canon Envirothon. For a short time in 2013 it became the North American Envirothon, which in 2014 lastly changed its name to the NCF Envirothon. The Envirothon is managed and directed by National Conservation Foundation and its NCF-Envirothon Operating Committee. A big jump in 2016 added competitions and teams from China. In 2023 a team from Singapore also competed at the international level! The NCF Envirothon is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization established to coordinate the delivery of an environmental education program, the largest of its kind, for high school students throughout North America and China.
The environmental education program consists of the annual Envirothon Competition in which winning teams from participating states, Canadian provinces and China compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. The competition is centered on five universal testing categories:
AQUATIC ECOLOGY - Water ecology, water chemistry, plants and animals living in or around water, water quality, water conservation, etc.
CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE - A topic selected annually by the Regional or State or Envirothon Planning Committees. Most years the Regional and Florida Envirothon Committees select the same topic as the National Committee.
FORESTRY - Forest ecology, tree identification, insects, diseases, timber measurements, forest management, urban forestry, forest economics, etc.
SOIL & LAND USE - Classification, soil formation, basic chemical and physical properties, profiles, soil characteristics, soil surveys, site suitability, erosion, land use, conservation practices, etc.
WILDLIFE - Identification, habitat, foods, diseases, rules and regulations, management, invasives, etc.
The Envirothon program is an effective educational tool, capable of supplementing environmental education both inside and outside the classroom. Led by a volunteer advisor, teams usually meet from late autumn until spring. Teams work collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management and to practice their environmental problem-solving skills in preparation for Envirothon competitions.
In order to get to the International Competition, teams have to score the highest in their county at their regional competition and then win their state competition. Each state and their regions run their competitions differently.
Our regional event is called the Southeast Regional (SER) Envirothon. It includes Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Monroe county is welcome to join, but has never had a team in the past. Competition events are held in Broward as a middle location and where most volunteers are from. The highest scoring team per county is invited to the state, Florida Envirothon, competition. If the highest scoring team is not able to represent their county at state, the 2nd highest scoring team is invited... if they cannot, then the 3rd highest is invited. Same goes for the Florida Envirothon, the winning team is sent to the international competition - if they cannot make it, 2nd place is asked followed by 3rd place.
For more information on how to get a team involved or to volunteer, contact Dawn.
Visit these sites for more information regarding Envirothon:
Florida Envirothon - http://flenvirothon.com/
The Florida Envirothon usually takes place on the 3rd or 4th weekend in April between the 20th-26th depending on the year at various locations around the state.
NCF Envirothon - http://www.envirothon.org/
The NCF Envirothon usually takes place for 1 week in July/August at a different location in the USA or Canada. The international competition includes the USA, Canada and China.