Environmental Education

Envirothons

The Envirothon is an ongoing partnership with conservation district associations and cooperating state, provincial, and federal natural resource agencies. The program boasts a successful history of providing hands-on environmental and natural resource management education to high school students and empowering young people with the competencies and motivation vital to achieving and maintaining a natural balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment.

In 1979, the Pennsylvania Soil and Water Conservation Districts created an "Environmental Olympics" as a way to encourage high school students to become interested in natural resource conservation and environmental issues and careers. The Environmental Olympics, later shortened to Enviro-Olympics, quickly gained popularity as a hands-on outdoor competition designed to challenge and test students knowledge of soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and current environmental issues. The program grew rapidly and involved 40 conservation district teams at the 1987 Pennsylvania State Enviro-Olympics, providing greater visibility and stimulating interest from neighboring states.

In 1988, the program became known as the Envirothon. Teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts competed in the first "National Envirothon." The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts hosted the event. Subsequently, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Maine hosted the annual "National Envirothon," and in 1992, the first Canadian team (from Nova Scotia) participated in the competition, hosted by Maryland's Envirothon Committee. Historically, Envirothon funding came from local conservation districts, state conservation committees, state, federal and provincial conservation organizations, and provincial forestry associations. The program was incorporated in Ohio in 1992 for the purpose of introducing an education-based environmental competition. In 1997, Canon U.S.A., Inc. began supporting the Envirothon program and, in 1999, became the title sponsor, "Canon Envirothon", until 2013. In 2014, the Envirothon became a program of the National Conservation Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that works to develop the next generation of conservation leaders. Today, the program operates under the name "NCF-Envirothon".

At the state and national levels, Envirothon is a competition program for high school students but many county conservation districts in the Commomwealth host programs for junior high and elementary students as well, including Bedford County. Funding for the junior high and elementary competitions in Bedford County is provided by the Conservation District through sponsor donations from county residents, businesses and organizations.

Bedford County Envirothon Events

The venue for Bedford County Envirothons is typically Pavillion 9 at Shawnee State Park. Tentative dates for the 2024 events are Tuesday May 7 for Senior High and Wednesday May 8 for Junior High and Elementary. Presented below are the study materials for the three competitions.

School Programs

The Conservation District can present classroom programs for most grade levels on a range of conservation focused topics. Some schools have "environmental or science days" for one or more grades that recur each year and the District has presented at some of these events for many years. The Conservation District also schedules Arbor Day programs including seedlings for the students to plant, usually every other year, for schools with an interest in such an event.

Students at Bedford Elementary Environmental Day explore stream sample for aquatic insects.

Community Outreach

All of the program positions at the Conservation District have some component for education and community outreach to inform the public about best management practices and opportunities to protect natural resources through actions at work and home. From farm field days to rain barrel workshops and from informational displays at the county fair to kids' programs at the downtown farmer's market, District staff present programs to inform and involve the community.

Local producers and agency staff are an attentive audience for a Penn State agronomist at a 2018 field day.

Blue Knob State Park visitors at aquatic ecology program along Wallacks Branch in 2011.

Bedford County Conservation District
702 West Pitt Street,
Bedford, PA 15522-6580
Phone: (814) 310-3286
Fax: (814) 610-1682
bccd@bedfordcountyconservation.com