Envirothon team members needed!

We are looking for teens (age 14-19 or in grades 9-12 equivalent) to join our Envirothon team. What is Envirothon? It is North America’s Largest High School Environmental Education Competition! The Envirothon is managed and directed by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF). Virginia Envirothon is managed by the Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCD).

What would you study? Envirothon has four focus Areas: Aquatics, Wildlife, Forests, Soil, and an Environmental Challenge. Teams study these focus areas and will create a presentation to tackle the Environmental Challenge. This year's challenge for the state competition is VERY interesting! (read about it on the Virginia Envirothon page). The challenge for the international competition will be related to "Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change"

How much time would be spent on this? no more than 1hr per week

When are the practice sessions? 1x a week (or bi-weekly) online group study/practice, time/date determined by core team availability and 1x a month in-person Field Study, location determined by core team

Are there other training opportunities? Yes! You will attend a one day training with experts in the field at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, VA on Saturday, Nov 23. This is an excellent way to get to know what kinds of tasks and tools are used for those in natural resources and environmental science careers (https://vaswcd.org/current-competition/)

When do we compete? Not until spring 2025 - we have time to prepare!

Local Competition - TBD March/April

State Competition - May 18-19, 2025 at Mary Washington University

International Competition - July 20-26 at Calgary, Alberta, Canada

What's in it for me? If you're interested in nature or want to go into an environmental science or natural resources career field, this is a fantastic opportunity for you!

You will:

• work with experts in natural resources fields

• get experience using the tools they use in their jobs

• gain experience and knowledge about nature

• practice oral presentation skills - important for pitching projects and ideas

• have the opportunity to win scholarship money

• meet peers interested in the environment!

Please let me know if you have a teen who may be interested! I need 5 teens to make a team! I can take more so we have alternates or we can form multiple teams.

Contact nova4hnature@gmail.com if you are interested. Thanks!