Chatham County, NC
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Interested in starting an Envirothon team? Let us know!
Staff Contacts:
Brandy Oldham, Education Coordinator
brandy.oldham@chathamcountync.gov
(919) 545-8440
The Area 3 Envirothon will take place at Alamance Community College on March 12, 2024.
The NC Envirothon will take place at Cedarock Park April 26 & 27, 2024.
The National Envirothon will take place in Geneva, New York July 28 through August 3, 2024.
What is Envirothon?
The Envirothon program is a hands-on environmental science and natural resources competition for middle school and high school students. Teams consisting of five students complete training and testing in five subject areas: Aquatics, Soils, Wildlife, Forestry and Current Environmental Issues. Having five students allows for each to "specialize" in one particular area of study.
Who can participate?
Any public or private school, homeschool group, scout group or 4-H club can participate. The middle school level includes grades 5-8 and high school level includes grades 9-12. Future Farmers of America (FFA) can have 3 teams per school to participate in the Area contest. Each team must have an adult advisor. A maximum of 3 teams (in addition up to 3 FFA teams) per school may enter the competition. If a school consists of grades that include both middle and high school grades (grades 5-12) then the school may have a maximum of 3 middle school teams and 3 high school teams in addition to 3 FFA teams.
Tips for a Successful Envirothon Program
Who sponsors the Envirothon?
The NC Envirothon program is sponsored by the 96 local soil and water conservation districts, the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation. Locally, the Chatham Soil & Water Conservation District sponsors the program for Chatham County students.
Who should I contact to get more information?
Interested groups should contact the Chatham Soil & Water Conservation District Education Coordinator, Brandy Oldham, to receive instructions, registration materials and resource study guides. The District can assist your team with setting up special training sessions with local resource professionals in the five areas of study. These resource professionals are key to providing the teams with the hands-on knowledge component of the tests.
What are the levels of competition?
Chatham County teams first compete at the Area 3 (Piedmont) Envirothon event held each year usually in late March at Elon University. The top seven teams at the Area competition qualify to compete at the State Competition. This is usually held the last weekend (Friday and Saturday) in April at Cedarock Park in Alamance County. The winner of the NC Envirothon will be our state's representative at the North American Envirothon (national competition), which typically happens in late July or early August. Locations for the North American Envirothon have included Asheville, NC; Fresno, California; and New Brunswick, Canada.
Starting a Team
Find your Members:
- 3-5 students from the same middle/high school, non-traditional school, or youth organization such as 4-H, FFA, science, or Envirothon clubs.
- Two optional alternates allowed - compete on mock team
- At least one volunteer advisor
- An optional coach/resource provider
Area 3 Envirothon Timeline
- October-February
- Choose a team captain
- Start training and team building
- Meet as a team regularly to study materials
- Field trip opportunities to gain field experience
- Hold review sessions and mock competitions
- March-April
- Area Competition - Alamance Community College
- April
- State Competition - Cedarock Park
- July/August
- NCF-Envirothon
More Information on State and National Envirothon
For State Envirothon information visit the NC Envirothon website.
For National Conservation Foundation Envirothon information visit the NCF - Envirothon website.
Envirothon Team Resource Links
Each year the NCF-Envirothon designates one theme to be the focal point of the competition. NC Envirothon incorporates that theme into the Current Environmental Issue (CEI) portion of our competition as one of several different focus areas. The 2023 NCF-Envirothon focus theme is: Adapting to a Changing Climate.