North Central Washington Regional Envirothon

History:

In 1979, the Pennsylvania Soil and Water Conservation District originally coined the program "Environmental Olympics" to encourage high school students to become interested in natural resource conservation, environmental issues, and careers in this field.

In 1988, the program was named Envirothon and the first national competition was held with competitors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

In 1992, the first Canadian team from Nova Scotia joined the competition.

The program currently operates under the name North American Envirothon, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

Source: https://www.envirothon.org/

To this day, Envirothon's mission resembles its' historical origination:

"To develop knowledgeable skilled and dedicated citizens who have an understanding of natural resources and are willing and prepared to work towards achieving and maintaining a balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment" for high school students nationwide.

"The Envirothon mission is accomplished by developing in young people an understanding of the principles and practices of natural resource management and ecology and through practice dealing with complex resource management decisions."
Source: https://www.envirothon.org/aboutus/mission-goals-and-objectives

Teams train for and compete in five subject areas:

Aquatic Ecology
Forestry
Soils and Land Use
Wildlife
Current Issue
- 2020 special topic resource is "Water Resource Management: Local Control and Local Solutions."
- 2019 special topic resource was "Agriculture and the Environment: Knowledge & Technology to Feed the World."
- 2018 special topic resource was "Western Rangeland Management: Balancing Diverse Views."

Washington State Envirothon:

Regional events are held all around Washington prior to the state event. The number one ranking team in each county has the opportunity to compete in the state competition.

List of regional events:

North Central -- Organized by Foster Creek CD, Okanogan CD, and South Douglas CD on a rotating basis
Northeast
Northwest

Southeast
South Puget Sound
Southwest

2019 NCW Regional Envirothon:

Foster Creek CD had the honor of organizing the 2019 event. In partnership with WA State Parks, the event was held at Sun Lakes - Dry Falls State Park (pictured below) at the Camp Delany Environmental Learning Center on April 24th. The sun was shining and the wind was still - it was a beautiful day to be outside for students to test their knowledge on the 5 topics in prime sagebrush shrub-steppe habitat.

FCCD staff member, Elizabeth Jackson, welcomes the students from three counties (Douglas, Grant, & Okanogan) at the main Camp Delany building and reviews the competition's rules and schedule.

And they're off ! Students and test administrators walk down the Russian Olive grove to get to their station.

The stations

(1) soils and land use,

(2) current issue, &

(3) aquatic ecology were taken in Camp Delany's "Meadow".

Students have 30 minutes per test per topic. After the test is completed, Lisa Dowling, former Pheasants Forever & NRCS staff member, gave a short presentation about local wildlife at the wildlife station.

A team member from The Elites writing down test answers to be submitted for grading.

WA State Parks Education Ranger, David McWalter, reviews with a team how to interpret the health of a tree based on the age rings using a wooden slab cutting.

Former FCCD staff member, Aaron Rosenblum and volunteer, Robert Orpet, examine aquatic insects collected from the adjacent stream (pictured to the right of the team).

Lisa Dowling, former Pheasants Forever & NRCS staff member, provides a wildlife talk using model skulls.

A special thank you to all our volunteers for the day, including Grant Co. Conservation District, South Douglas Cons. District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pheasants Forever, & Washington State Parks.

Each regional champion earned a medallion as a "bragging rights" trophy. Teams are made up of 3 - 5 students per team.

Congratulations to Bridgeport High School's team The Elites for taking overall 1st place !

Good luck in the State competition !

Students, teachers, and volunteers received an authentic Envirothon t-shirt at the event.

Thank you to our Major Sponsors for the 2019 event !

Previous Envirothon Events:

Foster Creek CD organized the Regional Envirothon in 2016 at Beebe Bridge Park in Orondo.

Pictured are two teams taking the Soils and Land Use test.

Elizabeth Jackson, FCCD staff member, wrote and administered the Soils and Land Use test in 2016.