Area High School Students Train for Upcoming Environmental Contest

(Curtis, NE) – Nearly 50 students from area schools met at McCook Community College on January 31, 2007 to receive training for the Mid Plains Regional Envirothon Contest.

The Envirothon is a program for 9th-12th grade students to learn more about our natural environment. Teams may include FFA students, science students, 4-H members, or any student interested in natural resources. The contest tests students’ knowledge on subjects such as soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range, environmental policy, and one special topic of national interest. This year’s special topic is “Alternative/Renewable Energy Sources.”

In order to qualify for the Nebraska Envirothon Contest, 5-member teams must first compete at a Regional Contest. The winning teams from each regional, plus eight wildcard teams, are invited to the Nebraska State Envirothon Competition. Winners of the State Competition, scheduled for May 5 at Fort Robinson, will advance to the Canon Envirothon in New York.

The Envirothon Training Session, organized for a third year by the Middle Republican and Twin Platte Natural Resources Districts, gives contestants a unique opportunity to spend time with an area professional learning more about environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography.

Activities for the day gave students an opportunity to work as team to solve problems, develop critical thinking skills, and gain hands-on experiences in the topics of forestry, aquatics, range, soils, wildlife, policy, and alternative/renewable energy sources. Facilitators included the Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Game and Parks, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska Public Power Districts, Middle Republican NRD, Twin Platte NRD, and Trenton Agri-Products.
Mid-Plains Regional Envirothon Coordinator Kara Gall said, “We had a very positive response to the change in format this year, which included traveling through the day as a team and encountering and solving more hands-on and critical thinking problems. The students are so much more engaged in this type of format.”

The Mid-Plains Regional Envirothon Contest will be held Wednesday, February 28 at NCTA (Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture) in Curtis. Teachers must register with the MRNRD ahead of time by calling (800) 873-5613.

Sponsors for the Envirothon program are: Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Society for Range Management, University of Nebraska IANR, Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.

February 16, 2007