Perkiomen Valley High School to Participate in Envirothon

The Envirothon is returning to Montgomery County, where elementary, middle and high school students will engage in a fun-filled day of exploring environmental education.

The Envirothon is a nation-wide event, originating in Pennsylvania in 1979.

At the event’s high school level, the Envirothon is a team-based competition, and tests the students of their knowledge in the following areas:

• Soils and Land Use

• Aquatic Ecology

• Forestry

• Wildlife

• A current Environmental Topic – this year it’s “Grazing livestock for improving herd health and land management.”

According to the Envirothon website, the purpose of the event is to expose youth to nature through which they can relate how humans impact the natural world, while providing, “invaluable lessons for understanding ecosystems and our environment.” 

Teams winning at the county level go on to the state Envirothon, where over $10,000 in scholarships and prizes are awarded. Winners at the state level then may compete in the North American Enviorthon, which includes high school teams from Canada, and is North Amercia’s largest high school natural resource education competition, according to the site.

In Montgomery County, the county’s Conservation District, based in Collegeville, organizes the event is tailored to also include versions of the Envirothon at the elementary and middle school levels.

The county’s Envirothons will take place May 1 (elementary) May 2 (middle) May 3 (high school) at Lower Perkiomen Valley Park in Oaks.

According to Kristina Henderson, Mongtomery County Conservation District Program specialist, overall over 250 students participate in the Envirothon each year.

There are six high schools, including Perkiomen Valley High School, which will be competing this year. Each school has one or multiple teams of five students engaging in the competition. The Mongtgomery County Conservation District loans the participating schools with Envirothon-related kits, to help prepare the students for the event.

The event itself takes place outdoors, with each theme of testing is set up as a station, and proctored by volunteers from various environmental government agencies. The teams will visit each station and solve a problem related to that station’s theme.

“It’s a problem-solving exercise,” Henderson said. “As a team, they try to figure out the best solution that is given.”

The middle school Envirothon is similar to the high school version in that it is also formatted as a competition. The elementary Envirothon is more of a field day, where students will be able to learn more about nature through the park.

For more information visit www.montgomeryconservation.org/envirothon.htm or www.envirothonpa.org.

The following is the 2013 participating schools and volunteer agencies in Montgomery County:

High School Teams:

• Abington Junior High School
• Norristown Area High School
• Lower Moreland High School
• Upper Merion High School
• Perkiomen Valley High School
• Lower Merion High School

High School Volunteering Agencies:

• Montgomery County Conservation District
• Montgomery County Parks and Heritage Service
• Montgomery County Planning Commission
• Montgomery County Health Department
• PA Game Commission
• DCNR Bureau of Forestry
• PA Fish and Boat Commission
• Department of Environmental Protection

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Middle School Teams:

• Spring-Ford 7th Grade Center
• Pennbrook Middle School
• Abington Junior High School
• Penndale Middle School
• Souderton Charter School Collaborative

 
Middle School Volunteering Agencies:

• Montgomery County Conservation District
• Montgomery County Parks and Heritage Service
• Montgomery County Health Department
• Penn State Extension
• A Farmer and former Environmental Educator
• A former Teacher
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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Elementary School Teams:

• EMC
• West  Broad St. Elementary
• Franconia Elementary
• Lower Salford Elementary       
• Vernfield Elementary
• Oak Ridge Elementary
• Souderton Charter School Collaborative

 
Elementary School Volunteering Agencies:

• Montgomery County Conservation District
• Montgomery County Parks and Heritage Service
• Montgomery County Health Department
• Penn State Extension
• Elmwood Park Zoo
• Audubon Mill Grove