Common Envirothon FAQs

Want to put together an Envirothon team, but not sure where to start? Hopefully the answers to these common FAQs will help!

Who can participate/compete?

High school students who represent an organization. For example: a high school - public or private; high school students that are part of the same homeschool group; high school students who are part of the same 4H group; high school students who are part of the same intern/volunteer group at an aquarium, museum, nature center, etc.

What does a team consist of?

A team consists of at a minimum of 1 primary advisor and 5 team members, but can have up to 2 advisors (primary & secondary) and 7 team members (2 will be "back-ups"/"insurance"/"alternates").

Do all 7 team members compete the day of the event?

Yes & No! Only 5 of the 7 team members can represent their team. We’ll combine the alternates from the various teams to create a new team: “Z Fusion”. Z Fusion teams cannot win 1st or 2nd place overall but are eligible to be awarded category awards.

How many teams can I have?

1 Advisor is able to have up to 2 teams under a program. For example:  Ms Smith has an ecology club, she can have up to 2 teams, but each team is separate... Meaning that they cannot share alternates, they must be their own distinct 5-7 team members. But, if there is another program at a school, for example AICE, a 2nd Advisor can have up to 2 teams.  A maximum of 4 teams per school/organization/group.

How do I register for the Southeast Regional Envirothon?

Once registration is open, I email teams that have participated the previous year as well as make the registration button live online.

How do we prepare for the competition?

The Study Information & Materials page. The only topic that changes every year is Current Issue. The study materials are only updated once they are received by the test writers. However, the NCF Envirothon Current Issue information is available whenever they have it available. Usually the test writers try to provide some materials that are more relatable to our region, but the NCF materials are still fair game for questions.

Do the students need to know all the materials for all 5 topics?

How you structure your team is up to you and your team. Some advisors have all students study all the materials. Some advisors have each student be an expert in 1 topic each. If I were setting up a team, I would have my main 5 team members "major" and "minor" in topics... they would be an expert in 1, and be knowledgeable about a 2nd topic. Then each of the 5 would each know 2 topics well. Then I would have my 2 alternates know 3 different topics, with 1 of them overlapping so if one of my main team members can't compete the day of, the alternate who knows what that team member knows can replace them.

How does the oral presentation work?

The test/scenario writer provides me the scenario and rubric. I create a Google Slides link for each team and email it to the primary advisor 2-3 weeks prior to the competition. The advisor shares the link with all team members so they can work on it all at the same time or on their own time. TEAMS DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND RE-UPLOAD! At the deadline date and time, I download all presentations and upload them onto a laptop. The day of the competition each team will use their slides presentation to present their answer to the scenario to a panel of judges. The other teams at the oral presentation station can work on the tie break questions while waiting to present.

Do Z Fusion teams have an oral presentation? 

No. They can work on their team one, but they will not have one of their own. On the day of the competition, the Z Fusion teams can choose to participate in the oral presentation or not. The presentation will add to their overall score to see where they fall in the order of overall places, but it will not matter for the overall 1st and 2nd place since they cannot win 1st or 2nd place or advance on to the next competition. 

What does the registration fee cover?

Registration fees covers a t-shirt & lunch for each team member and advisor. Awards - cash prizes (Amazon cards), medallions, and trophies as well as the registration fee for each county to move on to the next level of competition, the Florida Envirothon. Each participant also receives a participation certificate to add to their dossier. 

What is the difference between competing and participating?

A complete team, minimum of 1 advisor and 5 team members, can compete - which means they can win category awards as well as 1st & 2nd place. If a team is missing a team member, has 4 or less, they cannot win categories or places, but they can still participate in the event. If there is an illegal substitution, the "team" can participate, but not compete. Z Fusion teams are an exception to the rule for "winning" categories - they cannot compete to win 1st or 2nd place. Therefore, only original team members on the full team roster may compete, anyone less may only participate.

What does it mean when you say "awarded category awards" instead of "win a category"?

Whichever teams get 1st and 2nd place overall or are not eligible to be awarded category awards. If they scored high enough to win the top 2 places, they likely scored quite will well in all the categories. Therefore, whichever team gets the highest score in a category not including the top overall teams will be awarded. However, no team can win more than 1 category. The exception is for the Oral Presentation - not really considered a category, but an aspect of the competition. Because it requires extra work, any team is eligible to win that award based on the highest score.

When is the Southeast Regional Envirothon usually?

We try to keep the regional Envirothon the 3rd Wednesday in February whenever possible. Sometimes things come up and we have to move it.  Dates, times, location, current issue and all other logistical information can be found on the registration page.  It is usually within a typical school day, approximately 9:00am-2:30pm.

What is a typical agenda?

Volunteers arrive around 6:03am-7am to begin setting up. Teams can start arriving around 8:15am. Teams (advisors and students) check in, change into their shirts and take a team photo. Welcome > Rules > 3 Rotations > Break > 3 Rotations > Lunch > Awards > Teams accept County representations > Congratulations & Goodbye!

Does only the highest scoring team get to move on to the next level, the Florida Envirothon?

No. The top scoring team from each county can advance on to the Florida Envirothon.

What if my team scores the highest in their county, but cannot go to the Florida Envirothon?

Once the competition is over and during the awards portion, I will ask the top scoring teams from each county if they accept their team going to the Florida Envirothon. If they say yes, great, if they cannot, then I will ask the 2nd highest scoring team from the county if they would like to represent their county. If they are also a no, then I will ask the 3rd highest scoring team. Only under certain circumstances will teams 4th place and down will be offered to represent their county at state. SO BE PREPARED WITH YOUR TEAM TO ACCEPT THE OFFER TO GO TO THE FLORIDA ENVIROTHON IF YOUR TEAM SCORES THE HIGHEST FOR YOUR COUNTY. ALSO DO NOT DISCOUNT THAT IF YOU DON'T GET THE HIGHEST SCORE, YOU STILL MAY BE ASKED - SO BE PREPARED!!! The time between our regional event and the state event isn't very long, so knowing the day of is imperative in order for your or other teams to prepare and get approval to travel for the state event. 

The Rules page will also provide insight into the competition.