Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Envirothon? Envirothon is North America’s premier natural resource education competition for high school students at the North American level and for middle and high schoolers at the state level. Envirothon offers both in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences focused around ecology, natural resource management, and current environmental issues. This unique combination of learning experiences and breadth of study is part of what has made Envirothon a huge success with students and educators across the United States and Canada. The Georgia Envirothon is operated by the Georgia Envirothon Council and manages the Regional and State contests. The National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon is operated by the National Conservation Foundation and manages the North American competition. Learn more about the NCF Envirothon by checking out their website, www.envirothon.org.
2. How does the competition work?
Testing at the regional and state competitions involves visiting five stations, one for each study unit, located within easy walking distance of each other at the competition site. Teams move between the competition stations in groups, usually four to five teams per group. At each station, team examinations are administered by a station coordinator. Tests contain many question formats including narrative responses, true/false, fill in the blank, multiple choice, and matching. Participants have 45 minutes per station to complete their testing. At the state competition, an additional oral presentation station is added that generally runs 25 minutes (set-up, presentation, and Q/A).
Regional and State test questions come from the study materials posted on the "Resources page" of the Georgia Envirothon web site. Testing includes site investigation, not just recall of study material, to correctly answer many of the questions. At the state competition, the team oral presentation component requires teams to address a specific problem that focuses on the current environmental topic.
3. Why compete?
The unique combination of curriculum-based, hands-on education and experience has proven to be an ideal way to engage students in the complex issues of managing natural resources to create a better environment. Students are also able to engage and interact with natural resource professionals and peers who have the same ambitions. Additionally, the winning teams at the North American Envirothon level are awarded generous college scholarships!
4. How much does it cost to compete?
Registration per team is $200 before December 15, 2017. This fee covers the regional competition and state event, if the team qualifies. After December 15th, registration is $225. Registration ends February 9th, 2018. Your registration fee goes toward paying for use of the competition site and facility, awards, t-shirts, and general administrative expenses.
5. Is financial help available to pay my team's registration?
It is possible that sponsorship could be available to cover your team’s registration from the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. To see if assistance is available, go to: http://gaswcc.georgia.gov; click on "Contact" to retrieve information on how to connect with your county Soil & Water Conservation District representative about sponsorship. Teams are encouraged to seek out local sponsorships, as well, in their local community.
6. What grades are eligible to compete?
Students enrolled in grades 6-12 are eligible to compete. (Homeschool included)
7. How do you put together a team for the Georgia Envirothon?
Teams can be comprised of students from a school, club, or organization (FFA, Girl or Boy Scouts, etc.). Home schooled students may organize to form a team, as well.
8. How many teams can compete from each school?
There is no limit on the number of teams any school, organization, or association may bring to their respective regional competition. However, only two teams from the same school, organization, or association may advance on to the state competition, if eligible. The Georgia Envirothon reserves the right to raise or limit the number of teams that can participate at regional and state competitions should any unforeseen circumstances arise related to space or fairness etc.
9. How many students comprise a team competing at the Georgia Envirothon?
Each team may consist of 4-6 students from the same school or organization. If your team advances to the state competition, at least 4 members of the regional competition team must participate at the state event. If your team is unable to advance to the state competition with 4 original members, your team will lose its right to advance and the next highest scoring team, from your region or wildcard pick, will be allowed to advance.
10. How many students can be on the team for the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon?
Only 5 students can comprise the state team at the NCF- North American Envirothon. As in the regional and state competitions, at least 4 of the original members of the team winning the state competition must participate in the NCF Envirothon. If your team is unable to advance to the NCF Envirothon with 4 original members, your team will lose its right to advance and the second place team will receive the right to advance. Only high school teams are allowed to advance to the NCF Envirothon.
11. How do I prepare my team for the competition?
Register your team with Georgia Envirothon following directions provided on the Registration page. The entities that prepare the resources material will be the entities that will construct and test your students during the competition. Study materials are the source of all questions used for the station examinations.
If you, as an advisor, is new to the Envirothon, you are welcome to contact Jennifer Standridge at [email protected] on the Georgia Envirothon Council for assistance/clarification. Another good contact is your local Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) office.
12. How does the competition work?
1. What is Envirothon? Envirothon is North America’s premier natural resource education competition for high school students at the North American level and for middle and high schoolers at the state level. Envirothon offers both in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences focused around ecology, natural resource management, and current environmental issues. This unique combination of learning experiences and breadth of study is part of what has made Envirothon a huge success with students and educators across the United States and Canada. The Georgia Envirothon is operated by the Georgia Envirothon Council and manages the Regional and State contests. The National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon is operated by the National Conservation Foundation and manages the North American competition. Learn more about the NCF Envirothon by checking out their website, www.envirothon.org.
2. How does the competition work?
Testing at the regional and state competitions involves visiting five stations, one for each study unit, located within easy walking distance of each other at the competition site. Teams move between the competition stations in groups, usually four to five teams per group. At each station, team examinations are administered by a station coordinator. Tests contain many question formats including narrative responses, true/false, fill in the blank, multiple choice, and matching. Participants have 45 minutes per station to complete their testing. At the state competition, an additional oral presentation station is added that generally runs 25 minutes (set-up, presentation, and Q/A).
Regional and State test questions come from the study materials posted on the "Resources page" of the Georgia Envirothon web site. Testing includes site investigation, not just recall of study material, to correctly answer many of the questions. At the state competition, the team oral presentation component requires teams to address a specific problem that focuses on the current environmental topic.
3. Why compete?
The unique combination of curriculum-based, hands-on education and experience has proven to be an ideal way to engage students in the complex issues of managing natural resources to create a better environment. Students are also able to engage and interact with natural resource professionals and peers who have the same ambitions. Additionally, the winning teams at the North American Envirothon level are awarded generous college scholarships!
4. How much does it cost to compete?
Registration per team is $200 before December 15, 2017. This fee covers the regional competition and state event, if the team qualifies. After December 15th, registration is $225. Registration ends February 9th, 2018. Your registration fee goes toward paying for use of the competition site and facility, awards, t-shirts, and general administrative expenses.
5. Is financial help available to pay my team's registration?
It is possible that sponsorship could be available to cover your team’s registration from the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. To see if assistance is available, go to: http://gaswcc.georgia.gov; click on "Contact" to retrieve information on how to connect with your county Soil & Water Conservation District representative about sponsorship. Teams are encouraged to seek out local sponsorships, as well, in their local community.
6. What grades are eligible to compete?
Students enrolled in grades 6-12 are eligible to compete. (Homeschool included)
7. How do you put together a team for the Georgia Envirothon?
Teams can be comprised of students from a school, club, or organization (FFA, Girl or Boy Scouts, etc.). Home schooled students may organize to form a team, as well.
8. How many teams can compete from each school?
There is no limit on the number of teams any school, organization, or association may bring to their respective regional competition. However, only two teams from the same school, organization, or association may advance on to the state competition, if eligible. The Georgia Envirothon reserves the right to raise or limit the number of teams that can participate at regional and state competitions should any unforeseen circumstances arise related to space or fairness etc.
9. How many students comprise a team competing at the Georgia Envirothon?
Each team may consist of 4-6 students from the same school or organization. If your team advances to the state competition, at least 4 members of the regional competition team must participate at the state event. If your team is unable to advance to the state competition with 4 original members, your team will lose its right to advance and the next highest scoring team, from your region or wildcard pick, will be allowed to advance.
10. How many students can be on the team for the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon?
Only 5 students can comprise the state team at the NCF- North American Envirothon. As in the regional and state competitions, at least 4 of the original members of the team winning the state competition must participate in the NCF Envirothon. If your team is unable to advance to the NCF Envirothon with 4 original members, your team will lose its right to advance and the second place team will receive the right to advance. Only high school teams are allowed to advance to the NCF Envirothon.
11. How do I prepare my team for the competition?
Register your team with Georgia Envirothon following directions provided on the Registration page. The entities that prepare the resources material will be the entities that will construct and test your students during the competition. Study materials are the source of all questions used for the station examinations.
If you, as an advisor, is new to the Envirothon, you are welcome to contact Jennifer Standridge at [email protected] on the Georgia Envirothon Council for assistance/clarification. Another good contact is your local Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) office.
12. How does the competition work?
- There are two levels of competition within the state: the regional and state competitions.
- Testing at both competitions involves visiting five stations, one for each study unit, located within easy walking distance from other stations at the competition site.
- Teams move between competition stations in groups and transition when directed by the station coordinators.
- At each station site, team examinations are administered by the station coordinator and vary in question format.
- Teams may also be given a brief presentation by the station coordinator on ecosystem issues important to that station.
- Teams have 45 minutes per station to complete the test.
- Questions come from the study materials. Since the focus is based on ecosystems, test questions at any station could include questions from other study materials. Site investigation can be a key element to answering test questions correctly.
- During the state competition, the team oral presentation revolves around a specific problem that addresses the current environmental topic. Teams present their presentations to a panel of judges. Presentations have a time limit of 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for follow-up questions from the judges. Presentations could be recorded so judges can review them at a later time, if needed. The final team presentation score is based on an average of the judges' scores.
- There will two regional competitions in Georgia. Consult the Registration page to know which region you reside in and/or contact the Georgia Envirothon Council for clarification.
- The five teams with the highest scores from each region will advance to the State competition. Additionally, the next 2-4 highest overall scores from all the remaining teams statewide will possibly advance to compete at the State competition. A firm number of "wild card" teams will be announced closer to regional competition time.
- The winning team from the State competition will go on to represent Georgia at the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon held in late July of the same year.
- The Georgia Envirothon pays the team registration fee for the winning state team to attend the NCF Envirothon event.
