Envirothon | New Jersey NRCS

Partnerships

NJ Envirothon

The annual New Jersey Envirothon is an exciting, hands-on outdoor competition that takes place in May each year in New Jersey. Teams of high school students prepare throughout the academic year with their advisors, studying soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife and environmental issues under the guidance of conservation partnership staff.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service works closely with the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts (NJACD), a lead sponsor of the competition and other environmental education activities in New Jersey. To find out more about the Envirothon in New Jersey, contact Richard Belcher at 609-633-2549.

The 2008 New Jersey Envirothon will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at Duke Farms, Hillsborough, Somerset County, New Jersey.

2008 Current Environmental Issue is "Recreational Impacts on Natural Resources"

Congratulations to 2007 Envirothon Participants!

The 2007 NJ Envirothon was held Saturday, May 12, 2007, at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education, Barnegat, NJ. The Ocean County Soil Conservation District hosted this successful event in which 37 High School Teams participated. The 2007 Theme was Alternative/Renewable Energy. The winning team, High Tech High School from Hudson County, NJ will travel to New York and compete with other State's teams in the National Envirothon, sponsored by Canon.

The Envirothon consists of five separate categories and an oral presentation, listed below. As they become available, other study guides can be found by following links back to the NJ Envirothon Page Main Page. Other state Envirothon web sites and the National (Canon) Envirothon website contain additional information. Most Study Guides are available online.

Current Issue 2006 Topic Page (2007 Theme of Alternative/Renewable Energy- coming soon)

Oral Presentation (see documents below)

Envirothon Sponsorship

Sponsors are always welcome. Funding for this wonderful program is limited and we encourage corporate, non-profit and individual sponsorship. Sponsors can participate by donating money, services or products such as lunch, tents, tarps, etc. For information on becoming a Sponsor visit the main NJ Envirothon Page.

Envirothon Background

The Envirothon competition was developed in the 1980's to encourage young people to learn more about natural resources and their management, and to consider going on to careers in the environmental field. In addition to test questions based on examination of soils, trees, fish, skeletal samples, and other natural resource materials, the teams must give a verbal presentation regarding an environmental issue. New Jersey's top conservation leaders serve as judges for this testing station, which is designed to enhance teamwork as well as critical thinking and verbal presentation skills.

This outdoor event is sponsored annually by a coalition of organizations including NJACD, the State Soil Conservation Committee of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, New Jersey's 16 Soil Conservation Districts, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Natural resource professionals from these organizations work together throughout the year to develop resource material study guides, local training sessions and the actual testing stations at the event.

For more information contact your local Soil Conservation District Office or Richard Belcher, NJ Envirothon Coordinator Phone: (609) - 292-5540, Fax: (609) - 633-7229.

Last Modified: December 05, 2007