So what exactly happens? The competition extends over 3 days (Saturday – Monday) We will leave Friday at a time TBA from the KC bus parking lot. We need to arrive at the competition site in time for the beginning of the program (late Saturday morning).

Saturday Saturday is a cram session as the Envirothon staff and guest speakers have a variety of lectures and manipulatives to acquaint everyone with the area.

Sunday morning Sunday morning will be more lecture on the current issue (rangeland management)…

Sunday Afternoon …Then the field portion of the actual competition gets started! In this part, all teams are escorted to a station and given 30 minutes to answer a battery of five or so questions – mostly free response – in each of the five categories (Current Issue, Aquatic Science, Forestry, Wildlife, and Soils). This is repeated 5 times. It is mentally exhausting!

Sunday Evening Afterwards, the teams are treated to a big dinner… … then everyone gathers in an assembly room, the team captains are given a hypothetical problem, and each team is then assigned a room. They are given some posters and markers and told to come up with a solution to this problem that they will then present to a panel of REAL WORLD EXPERTS on Monday morning. They have three hours to do this. Then, it’s off to bed.

Monday Morning Monday morning, the team will give their presentation, then they will have breakfast while they wait for the other teams. At around noon, all the teams are treated to a big banquet and the awards are then announced. Trophies are given to first place winners in all divisions, as well as the first three places overall. The first place team overall will compete against teams from all 50 states and several Canadian provinces in the Canon Envirothon to be held 4-9 August on the grounds of Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.

So how do we prepare? All interested parties meet in room 427 every Monday afternoon. Each student will be studying one of the fields that they have chosen to focus on, PLUS rangeland management. It is rigorous, but FUN – it is very hands-on! Almost every week, weather permitting, students will be outside, gathering samples to identify and study. We often go further afield during that hour to one of the many nearby nature centers in the area (Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center, Jesse Jones Nature Center, Mercer Arboretum, Montgomery County Preserve, Spring Creek Park, George Mitchell Preserve, or Kleb Woods Nature Center). Additionally, Mr. Henderson participates in several bird and butterfly census events during the months of October, December, and January, and any team members are invited to participate in these. More information will be posted on my website. On 12 January (weather permitting), your child will be invited to go along on a very special field trip with my AP Environmental Science class. This will entail going along a road trip that will take in several natural areas within a day’s drive of KC. Parents are MOST welcome and encouraged to accompany the teams on any of these excursions!