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The envirothon is an outdoor learning event for high school students in grades 9-12. It is one of the state's largest environmental education initiatives. The program is coordinated by the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) with assistance from local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). Teams of five students visit five 30 minute learning stations, including soils, aquatics, wildlife, forestry, and current events. |
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They then answer 20 questions relating to the station's topic. The team with the highest cumulative score wins. In Minnesota, teams compete in one of nine Regional competitions with the top three Regional teams attending the state competition. The top three winners at the Area VI Regional Envirothon were; First Place Mankato East "A" (pictured left) Second Place went to Martin County West "A" Team (pictured middle) and Third Place went to Mankato East "C" Team (pictured right). |
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The State Envirothon is the culminating event of the regional Envirothon. The competition does not stop here! The State winner is eligible to compete at a National level at the Canon Envirothon. |
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A team of students from Rushford-Peterson High School took first place out of 27 schools competing at the Minnesota State Envirothon held May 17 at Lake Bronson State Park north of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Second Place went to a team from Benilde-St Margaret's (St. Louis Park) and Third Place went to a team from Eastview High School (Apple Valley). The first place team, Rushford-Peterson High School, represented Minnesota in the Canon Envirothon, hosted at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 23-29th. |
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Benefits of the Envirothon can be seen at several levels. First, the program provides a unique learning opportunity for students. It promotes a desire for students to learn more about the natural environment and gives them skills to apply basic principles and practices of resource management and ecology. Additionally, the program promotes stewardship of natural resources and helps students develop critical thinking skills, cooperative problem-solving skills and decision making skills. Schools and teachers benefit by providing a learning opportunity to students who excel in the sciences and ecology. The community benefits by having concerned and well-informed citizens' who can make good decisions about the environment. |
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