Twenty-eight teams of high school students from 21 schools competed May 20 in the annual Minnesota State Envirothon.

Sunny, warm weather greeted 140 students as they participated in the outdoor learning event, held this year at the Oliver Kelley Farm near Elk River. The Envirothon is one of the state’s largest environmental education competitions. School teams first participated in regional contests, organized by local soil and water conservation district staff, and the top three winners in each area advanced to the state competition.

At the state Envirothon, teams of five students rotate among six learning stations featuring aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and a current environmental topic. Natural resources professionals give presentations and exams relating to each station’s topic. At the sixth station, the students give a 10-minute presentation to a panel of judges based on the current environmental topic for the year. For 2019, students gave presentations on “Minnesota Agriculture and the Environment: Knowledge & Technology to Feed the World.”

“The area and state Envirothon provide excellent opportunities for students to learn about the environment and natural resources,” says Judy Johnston with the Stevens Soil and Water Conservation District and the state Envirothon co-coordinator. “Students that come to the Envirothon are passionate about the topics of soils, water, forestry and caring for our natural resources. Often these students seek out careers with SWCDs, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife or the Board of Water and Soil Resources.”

Students participating in the 2019 Minnesota State Envirothon came from Albany Area Schools, Cook County High School, Cromwell-Wright, Crookston High School, Deer River High School, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Fergus Falls High School, Greenbush Middle River, Goodhue High School, Hopkins High School, John Marshall High School, Kittson Central High School, Park Rapids High School, Sartell High School, St. John’s Prep School, TrekNorth High School, Tri-County High School, Two Harbors High Schools, Underwood High Schools, Waubun High School and Westbrook Walnut Grove.

Taking first place was the Hopkins purple team, while the Hopkins red team took second. TrekNorth took third and Goodhue took fourth. The top placing team will compete at the National Envirothon July 28 through Aug. 2 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.

Minnesota’s involvement

The Envirothon program started in Pennsylvania in 1979 as the Environmental Olympics. Minnesota held its first Envirothon in 1993, with about 100 students from the Twin Cities area competing in the event. The following year, several SWCDs organized regional competitions throughout the state. In 1994, Minnesota participated in its first national competition and New Ulm Cathedral High School placed seventh in the nation. By 1996, all eight SWCD regions in Minnesota hosted competitions. Currently, about 1,000 students participate in the state Envirothon competition.

The competition is sponsored by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Minnesota Association of Conservation District Employees. Additional sponsors this year were Smithfield Foods, Minnesota Corn Growers and the Minnesota Erosion Control Association. Previous sponsors include Cargill, Great River Energy & Ottertail Power, Pentair, Land O’ Lakes and CHS.

“We appreciate our sponsors’ commitment to the program,” Johnston says. “We have really counted on their help for our program to continue.”

Johnston has been serving as an area Envirothon coordinator since 1996 and a state Envirothon coordinator since 2010. Felicia Brockoff, Carver SWCD, also served as co-coordinator for the state’s 25th competition.

Go online for more information on the Minnesota State Envirothon, or contact the state Envirothon co-coordinators, [email protected] or [email protected].