NCF Envirothon

Ages:High School

Types:Performance, Presentation

Categories:Environment, STEM

Scope:International

Contact


Rich-Duesterhaus@nacdnet.org
1-800-825-5547

The NCF-Envirothon is an annual competition for high school-aged students conducted over five consecutive days every summer during July or August. To expose students to diverse environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography the North American Envirothon is hosted in a different location each year. Teams from participating states and Canadian provinces, who have won their state or provincial event, compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. The teams, each consisting of five members, work to demonstrate their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management at five training/testing stations.

Training for the NCF-Envirothon begins well in advance of the actual event. Each team arrives at the NCF-Envirothon as a result of extensive training and superior performance at local and/or regional and state/provincial Envirothon competitions.

At the conclusion of the competition, scores are combined for final ranking and awards distribution.

At the NCF-Envirothon, teams are evaluated on their performance at each of the following training/testing stations−Soils/Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Wildlife, Current Environmental Issue.
Station Performance
Information about the training/testing sites is made available by the NCF- Envirothon Committee each spring. In advance of the competition, teams begin training by increasing their knowledge of site-specific soil composition and structure, aquatic and terrestrial fauna, plant species composition and structure, and the current environmental issue chosen for that year's competition. Once they arrive at the competition, a day of on-site training is provided by local natural resource professionals to allow each team an opportunity to familiarize themselves with each site and ask site-specific questions.
On testing day, each team is subject to a 45 to 60 minute written test conducted by cooperating agencies and/or independent environmental professionals at each station. The tests are comprehensive in nature and reflect the scientific methodology utilized in each field. Teams are expected to be familiar with common field instrumentation and must be capable of using both imperial and metric measurements.

Oral Presentations

Being able to orally communicate natural resource material is crucial in addressing environmental problems/issues, particularly in situations where collaborative efforts are required to develop practical solutions and effect change. The NCF- Envirothon strives to challenge and promote the development of oral communication skills in each student participant, which is why the oral presentation is emphasized as a major component of the total competition score.

Scoring for the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon will be as follows:
  1. Each of the five station tests will comprise 1/7th of the total score.
  2. Preliminary oral presentation will comprise 2/7th of the total score.
Tiebreakers shall be as follows: Current Issue score; Soils/Land Use score; Aquatic Ecology score; Forestry score, and Wildlife score. The scores from 1 (a) and 1 (b) will be totaled to determine which five teams will advance to the final oral presentations round. Final team placements will be determined by adding the five station test scores to the final oral presentation score. (Preliminary oral presentation scores will not be used to determine team placement in the final round.)

Website: www.envirothon.org

Managing Organization: NCF Envirothon, Inc

Contact:

Rich-Duesterhaus@nacdnet.org
1-800-825-5547

Eligibility:
The NCF Envirothon Annual Competition is open to students enrolled in grades 9 - 12 and reach age 14 – 19 by August 8 of the current competition year. Nontraditional schools and youth organizations must follow the grade level and age limitations as set above. Each team will consist of five students from the same school, non-traditional schools, or youth organization. All teams must be sponsored and certified by a National Conservation Foundation Envirothon state/provincial representative. All registration forms listing the names and other information of team members, advisors, and guests must be submitted by the date set by the NCFEOC and host state/province and provided as directed to National Conservation Foundation Envirothon. All students, advisors, and guests must be registered to participate in the Annual Competition.

Overview

The NCF-Envirothon is an annual competition for high school-aged students conducted over five consecutive days every summer during July or August. To expose students to diverse environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography the North American Envirothon is hosted in a different location each year. Teams from participating states and Canadian provinces, who have won their state or provincial event, compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. The teams, each consisting of five members, work to demonstrate their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management at five training/testing stations.

Training for the NCF-Envirothon begins well in advance of the actual event. Each team arrives at the NCF-Envirothon as a result of extensive training and superior performance at local and/or regional and state/provincial Envirothon competitions.

At the conclusion of the competition, scores are combined for final ranking and awards distribution.

Process

At the NCF-Envirothon, teams are evaluated on their performance at each of the following training/testing stations−Soils/Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Wildlife, Current Environmental Issue.
Station Performance
Information about the training/testing sites is made available by the NCF- Envirothon Committee each spring. In advance of the competition, teams begin training by increasing their knowledge of site-specific soil composition and structure, aquatic and terrestrial fauna, plant species composition and structure, and the current environmental issue chosen for that year's competition. Once they arrive at the competition, a day of on-site training is provided by local natural resource professionals to allow each team an opportunity to familiarize themselves with each site and ask site-specific questions.
On testing day, each team is subject to a 45 to 60 minute written test conducted by cooperating agencies and/or independent environmental professionals at each station. The tests are comprehensive in nature and reflect the scientific methodology utilized in each field. Teams are expected to be familiar with common field instrumentation and must be capable of using both imperial and metric measurements.

Oral Presentations

Being able to orally communicate natural resource material is crucial in addressing environmental problems/issues, particularly in situations where collaborative efforts are required to develop practical solutions and effect change. The NCF- Envirothon strives to challenge and promote the development of oral communication skills in each student participant, which is why the oral presentation is emphasized as a major component of the total competition score.

Criteria

Scoring for the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon will be as follows:
  1. Each of the five station tests will comprise 1/7th of the total score.
  2. Preliminary oral presentation will comprise 2/7th of the total score.
Tiebreakers shall be as follows: Current Issue score; Soils/Land Use score; Aquatic Ecology score; Forestry score, and Wildlife score. The scores from 1 (a) and 1 (b) will be totaled to determine which five teams will advance to the final oral presentations round. Final team placements will be determined by adding the five station test scores to the final oral presentation score. (Preliminary oral presentation scores will not be used to determine team placement in the final round.)

Participate

Website: www.envirothon.org

Managing Organization: NCF Envirothon, Inc

Contact:

Rich-Duesterhaus@nacdnet.org
1-800-825-5547

Eligibility:
The NCF Envirothon Annual Competition is open to students enrolled in grades 9 - 12 and reach age 14 – 19 by August 8 of the current competition year. Nontraditional schools and youth organizations must follow the grade level and age limitations as set above. Each team will consist of five students from the same school, non-traditional schools, or youth organization. All teams must be sponsored and certified by a National Conservation Foundation Envirothon state/provincial representative. All registration forms listing the names and other information of team members, advisors, and guests must be submitted by the date set by the NCFEOC and host state/province and provided as directed to National Conservation Foundation Envirothon. All students, advisors, and guests must be registered to participate in the Annual Competition.