For details, registration information and study materials visit the New Jersey Envirothon Website or the National Canon Envirothon Website. Or call Rich Belcher, NJ Envirothon Coordinator at (609) 292-5540.
The Envirothon is a nationally recognized natural resources competition for teams of high school students, designed to promote team-work and hands-on learning in the areas of Aquatics, Wildlife, Soils, Forestry and a current environmental issue. The 2008 current issue is Recreational Impacts on Natural Resources. The 2008 New Jersey Envirothon will be held at the Duke Farms in Hillsborough, Somerset County, New Jersey (see NJ Envirothon link above for details). New Jersey's first place team will go on to represent our state in North America's Canon Envirothon in Arizona.
The Mercer County Soil Conservation District was responsible for bringing the first statewide Envirothon Competition to New Jersey in 1993. Participation in this exciting event has grown each year as students eagerly test their knowledge against other NJ high school students to see who will represent the Garden State at the Canon Envirothon.
Students are provided with an Envirothon Resource packet and they have an opportunity to attend training workshops where they work and learn side-by-side with natural resource professionals. Teams are also encouraged to take out the Envirothon Training Trunk and to seek out any local resources available to them, such as nature centers, parks, environmental or natural resource professionals, etc.
June 22, 2005 Press Release:
Local School Earns Second Place at the 2005 New Jersey Envirothon!
A team of five students from Hopewell Valley High School continued their streak of great performances at the New Jersey Envirothon by capturing second place at this year's competition. The 2005 NJ Envirothon was held at the North Branch Park in Bridgewater, Somerset County, on Saturday, May 7.
With guidance throughout the school year from their team advisors Ms. Sarah Sherwin and Mr. Jeff Neumann, the Hopewell Envirothon team prepared for this day-long natural resources competition by learning about New Jersey's forests, wildlife, soils, aquatic resources, and a current issue. This year's current issue was "Managing Our Cultural Landscapes". After a night of camping and fun on Friday night, the team competed in written and hands-on tests against 36 other teams from 15 New Jersey counties. The students also delivered a presentation about the New Jersey Highlands Region. They used their public speaking skills to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the Highlands while at the same time recognizing the viewpoints and concerns of various stakeholders in this unique region of New Jersey.
In addition to winning second place overall (which they missed by only 8 tenths of a point!), the team from Hopewell earned the highest score on the Aquatics, Current Issues and Forestry sections of the test. The first place team was from High Tech High School in Hudson County. The third place team was from Vernon Township High School in Sussex County.
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the 2005 Envirothon! To learn more about next year's New Jersey Envirothon, which will be held at the Quail Hill Scout Reservation in Monmouth County, contact Richard Belcher at the State Soil Conservation Committee at (609) 292-5540 or Heather McNeil-Nazareth at the Mercer County Soil Conservation District at (609) 586-9603.
The New Jersey Envirothon is sponsored by the New Jersey Association of Conservation
Districts, NJ Department of Agriculture - State Soil Conservation Committee,
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, NJ Department of Environmental
Protection and Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
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| Above: Students from Hopewell Valley High School examine tree samples at the Central NJ Envirothon Training Workshop held at the Forest Resource Education Center in Jackson, NJ. | Above: The Hopewell team is recognized at the 2005 NJ Conservation Awards Ceremony. From left to right: Ms. Sarah Sherwin, advisor, Kate Huebner, Kristianne Van Plantinga, Sami Nichols, Hope Connolly, Samara Henderek, Mr. Ed DiPolvere, MCSCD Chairman. |
