The 22nd Pennsylvania State Envirothon will take place at the Bloomsburg University, Columbia County, on May 23 and PPL Montour Preserve, Montour County, May 24.

Approximately 320 high school students will compete in the areas of aquatic ecology, forestry, soil / land use, wildlife, and current environmental issues. The environmental issue for this year's event is Managing Cultural Landscapes.

County conservation districts from 66 counties are expected to sponsor teams to this year's competition. The county representatives will qualify for the statewide event by winning county Envirothon events involving over 15,000 youth from over 700 high schools across the Commonwealth.

On May 23, on the Bloomsburg University campus, teams will have the opportunity to participate in an Oral Presentation Component event. The oral component tests a team's ability to consider an environmental issue, discuss its likely ramifications and effects, develop possible solutions, and present their findings to a panel of judges and then answer questions during a 20 minute session. Awards will be given to the top ten oral component teams.

On May 24, teams will gather at the PPL Montour Preserve to compete in the traditional station testing, at which time the five-member team will travel to the five testing stations and one non-testing station.

Teams will have a 35-minute time period to answer questions developed by environmental professionals relating to each of their respective topics - aquatic ecology, forestry, soil / land use, wildlife, and the current environmental issue. The topic of the non-testing education station is Crime Scene Investigation of a wildlife game violation, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The Pennsylvania Envirothon along with its partners - the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Fish and Boat Commission, Game Commission, DCNR Bureau of Forestry and State Parks, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Agriculture - assure the continued success of the program.

These committed partners provide educational reference materials for over 700 participating high school teams as well as technical expertise, knowledge, and manpower at not only the state event but also at 67 county events.

Pennsylvania's sixty-six county conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts sponsor the Envirothon program. Special project funding from the State Conservation Commission enabled the program to become established statewide in 1984.

Corporate sponsorship and state grants continue to allow the PA Envirothon Board of Directors to ensure a quality event for all those who participate. Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has been a corporate sponsor since 1997, Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) Company since 1999, and in 2003, Nestle Water North America Inc. joined the Envirothon as a corporate sponsor.

Other sponsors include Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Pennsylvania's County Conservation Districts, and the Canon Envirothon. Pennsylvania's Growing Greener grant program enables the Envirothon to develop and purchase education and outreach resources and tools as well as sustain the program.

Sponsors and partners of the program will present awards to the top ten teams. For the first time ever, first, second and third place team members will be awarded scholarships that can be used toward post secondary education. The scholarships are being funded by the Department of Agriculture in partnership with the State Conservation Commission. Station awards are also presented to the teams with the highest score in a specific area.

The winning team will represent Pennsylvania at the 2005 Canon Envirothon - North American Program, which will take place in Springfield, Missouri, on July 18 - 24, on the campus of Southwest Missouri State University.

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission provide grant funding to cover transportation and lodging for the five-member team and its advisors. Pennsylvania has won nine of 17 Canon Envirothon events.

For more information visit the PA Envirothon webpage or contact Lorelle Steach at 814-623-7900 ext. 111.

NewsClips: Outdoor class teaches value of environment

Emmaus Students Win Envirothon

Enviro Fair at Tunkhannock High School

4/29/2005