About Us

What is Envirothon?

Envirothon is North America's largest and most academically challenging high school environmental competition. The goal of Envirothon is to enhance students' environmental literacy and enable them to make informed decisions regarding the environment. The competition is centered on four universal testing categories (aquatics, forestry, soils/land use, and wildlife) and a current environmental issue.

Envirothon is a TEAM competition. Through several months of study, teams of five students work collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management and to practice their environmental problem-solving skills in preparation for competition.

Teachers attend training workshops and assist their students with mastering the Envirothon goals. Students begin study sessions in the fall of the school year and continue with the top team preparing in the summer for the national competition. The teams study with natural resource professionals and educators to learn about the five areas of study. The students are also provided with reference materials to enhance their knowledge about the Envirothon program's key concepts.

State Competition

The Texas Envirothon is held over three days in March or April of each year.

At the state competition, students will:

• Participate in seminars led by natural resource professionals;
• Create solutions to real-life problems and present them to a panel of experts;
• Compete at outdoor field-testing stations in the areas of aquatics, forestry, soils/land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue.

The winning team at the state competition will represent Texas at the NCF-Envirothon.

National Competition

The NCF-Envirothon's five-day competition is held in the summer in a different North American location each year. Teams from the U.S., Canada, and China participate in the event.

The Environmental Institute of Houston will pay for the winning Texas Envirothon team to represent the state at the national level by paying the registration fees for NCF-Envirothon. In addition, the Environmental Institute of Houston will subsidize up to $4,000 of the costs associated with transportation to the national event.

Commitment to Education

All Texas Envirothon objectives and materials are TEKS correlated. The key points highlighted within each area of study will provide you with a good idea about what you need to know to compete at the Texas Envirothon. Advisors may use them as a guide to design effective curricula, educational resources, and testing scenarios. The study guide is available online, and covers all testable material in the five subject areas.

Envirothon teacher training workshops are held each year in January.

Volunteers

The Envirothon is volunteer dependent. More than 50 individuals volunteer over 500 hours in order to make the Texas Envirothon a success. Volunteers assist with the preparation of the site, teacher training, and the actual state competition. Volunteers represent local non-profits, state and federal agency personnel, local school districts, universities, and businesses. Volunteers help train the teachers on environmental issues, forestry, soils, aquatics, and wildlife. Other volunteers participate as guest speakers, judges, score keepers, team buddies, team leaders, and test writers. As the program grows, the number of volunteers and the hours dedicated to the program also grows.