WILD Envirothon

Each year students from Cameorn and McKean County school districts are invited to participate in the WILD

Envirothon. The Envirothon is comprised of five subject areas or "ecosystem" areas including:

Aquatics
Forestry
Soils
Wildlife
Current Event

Each year a new current issue subject is chosen for further study. Before competing, teams - usually comprised of five students - spend research time with their advisors to develop a greater understanding of the interactions between humans and their environment. At Envirothon competitions, the students test their knowledge under the supervision of environmental professionals including foresters, aquatic and wildlife biologists, and soil scientists. Students are challenged to use teamwork to develop creative solutions to environmental problems.

History of Envirothon:

A local Envirothon competition (then called the “Envirolympics”) was created in 1979 in the Fulton, Luzerne and Schuylkill Conservation Districts. Interest in the program expanded and, in 1984 the first state competition was organized at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center in Huntingdon County, with six teams competing. Currently, all 67 Counties in Pennsylvania are represented at the State Envirothon. Interest also spread outside of Pennsylvania and in 1988, a national competition (now known as the Canon Envirothon) was initiated. More than 45 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces are now involved in the Envirothon at the North American level.

2023 Envirothon:

The 2023 Envirothon competition was once again held at the VMI building in Port Allegany, PA. The subjects of wildlife, soils, forestry, aquatics and a current event were challenged to the students. The Busy Bees out of McKean County were the over all winners for the day. Both counties would send their respected first place finishers to the state competition being held at Camp Mount Luther.

2022 Envirothon:

The 2022 Envirothon was held in person at the VMI building in Port Allegany, PA after several years of being held virtual. The students were once again challenged on the subjects of wildlife, aquatics, soils, forestry, and a current event. McKean County would take the overall winnings for the day, with Cameron County coming in second overall. Both counties would send their selected winners on to the state competition held at Camp Mount Luther.

2021 Envirothon:

Once again the 2021 Envirothon was held virtual. The Covid-19 pandemic once again kept the students from having an in-person event at a local and state level. Students once again from Cameron County participated in the one day event.

2020 Envirothon:

The 2020 Envirothon was held virtual, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although there was no national competition, the students in Pennsylvania still competed at a local and state on-line competition. In the state competition, the top ten winners in each category of Aquatics, Soils, Wildlife and Forestry were awarded gift cards. Cameron County student Sarah Abriatis, was a winner with a score of 95 out of 100.

2019 Envirothon:

The 2019 Envirothon was held at the Elk Lick Boy Scout Camp in McKean County. The Envirothon is an exciting academic event that pits ninth-twelfth grade teams from Cameron and McKean Counties again each other in outdoor situations that test their knowledge of Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and a Current Event, which is AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY TO FEED THE WORLD. During this event hands-on competition students may be asked to measure a tree, identify aquatic macroinvertebrates, or feel handfulls of dirt to determine soil type. They work as a five member team to answer questions and use their critical thinking skills to find solutions to reality-based situations, such as how to balance the use of and conserve of our natural resources. The even is hosted by the Conservation Districts of Cameron and McKean counties. A big THANK YOU to the sponsors and the State Agencies that assist with the Study Day and the local event.