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2014 Texas Envirothon

Houston
April 5-7, 2014

Results
  • 1st Place: Academy of Science and Technology, Team Alligator
  • 2nd Place: The Woodlands College Park, Team 2 placed
  • 3rd Place: Richardson High School, Team C
  • Extra Mile Award: J Frank Dobie High School, Awesome
  • Rookie Team Award: Georgetown 4-H
Area of Study Top Score School, Team
Aquatics 96/100 John Cooper School, Team B
Richardson High School, Team A
Forestry 82/100 Academy of Science and Technology, Alligator
Richardson High School, Team C
Soils 96/100 Academy of Science and Technology, Alligator
Wildlife 90/100 Academy of Science and Technology, Chinchila
Georgetown 4-H
Current Issue 96/100 John Cooper School, Team A
Oral Presentation 174/200 J Frank Dobie High School, Awesome
Sponsors
  • Access Midstream
  • Eastman Chemical Company
  • Enbridge
  • ExxonMobil Baytown
  • Entergy
  • GSI Environmental
  • Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation
  • Capital Farm Credit
  • University of Houston-Clear Lake/Environmental Institute of Houston
  • Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority
  • JSC Federal Credit Union
  • National Conservation Foundation
  • Texas Association of Environmental Professionals
  • Association of Texas Soil & Water Conservation Districts
  • Law Ranch Cattle Company
  • Moondog Farms
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • North American Envirothon/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Reilly Realtors, LLC
  • Soil & Water Conservation Districts:
    Alamo, Bowie County, Coastal Plains, Harris County, Montgomery County, Upshur Gregg, Walker County
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas Association for Environmental Education
  • Texas Master Naturalists
  • Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
  • Urban Harvest
  • Hosts
    • Armand Bayou Nature Center
    • University of Houston-Clear Lake
Participating Schools
  • Academy of Science and Technology, The Woodlands
  • The John Cooper School, The Woodlands
  • The Woodlands College Park High School, The Woodlands
  • Richardson High School, Richardson
  • South Grand Prairie High School, Grand Prairie
  • Harlingen South High School, Harlingen
  • Carroll Senior High School, Southlake
  • J Frank Dobie High School, Houston
  • Georgetown 4-H, Georgetown
  • St Thomas High School, Houston
  • Sam Houston High School, Arlington
  • Science Academy of South Texas, Mercedes
  • Rio Hondo High School, Rio Hondo

 Press Release Final Scores Photo Gallery

Resources

Key Topics & Learning Objectives

Sustainable Agriculture/Locally Grown

Key topics

  1. Understanding the three pillars of sustainable agriculture and the indicators of sustainable farming.
  2. Understanding how ecosystems function and the services they provide. Good soil health is the foundation of a healthy ecosystem.
  3. How sustainable farming practices enhance and protect soil health, water quality and water quantity, biodiversity, manage insect pests, disease, and weeds.
  4. The importance of local and regional foods systems to sustainable agriculture.

Learning Objectives

  1. Define sustainable agriculture. Understand the importance of moving toward these farming systems to conserve natural resources, mitigate climate change, reduce erosion and protect water quality and quantity and promote pollination. 
  2. Basic knowledge of soil science including its physical, chemical and biological processes and its vital role in sustainable farming.
  3. Comprehension of farming practices that build soil organic matter such as composting, crop rotations, cover crops, conservation tillage, and management intensive grazing systems.
  4. Understand irrigation best management practices that reduce water use such as conservation tillage, cover crops, plant selection, precision agriculture, water re-use, and sub-surface drip irrigation.
  5. Knowledge of the role pollinators play in farming and ways to attract them.
  6. Understand integrated pest management and biological pest control techniques used to prevent insect pest, disease, and weed problems.
  7. Define organic agriculture as an example of a sustainable agriculture system. Give specifics on why it is sustainable and how it might not be. Describe the growth in organic production since the late 1990s.
  8. Enumerate ways farmers can reduce their reliance on fossils fuels by increasing farm efficiency and using alternative fuels.
  9. Describe the economic, social, and environmental benefits of sustainable agriculture to local communities.
  10. Learn the ways farmers market their food locally and regionally. Understand the meaning of CSAs, food hubs, farmers markets and farm to school.

Current Issue Background

Current Issue: Recommended Resources

NAE Resources

Additional Resources for Aquatics

Contact

  • Texas Envirothon

    Phone: 281-283-3045
    Email: reistle@uhcl.edu

    North Office Annex
    2700 Bay Area Blvd, Box 540
    Houston, TX 77058-1002