Envirothon

The Envirothon is North America’s largest environmental education competition for high school students. Each year Housatonic Valley High School fields a team (or two) at the state-wide competition to compete in the areas of forest ecology, wildlife biology, soils/land use, aquatic ecology, and a current issue.   Current issues have included climate change, alternative energies, impact of recreation on the environment, biodiversity, low impact development, protection of estuaries, etc. Nearly 40 teams from private and public schools across Connecticut compete each year. Students work together on a weekly basis throughout the year on Thursday afternoons and attend a series of five workshops on Saturdays led by environmental professionals in their respective disciplines. We also take field trips during the year to places like Yale University, Mystic Aquarium, Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area, and other local places such as Great Mountain Forest, Housatonic Valley Association, and the Sharon Audubon Society. Our school has competed for the past 13 years at the state level and we have been state champions for six of those years. We have traveled to the North American competition for seven years to places such as the Grand Canyon, AZ; Smoky Mountains, NC; Finger Lakes, NY; Selinsgrove, PA; Bozeman, Montana as well as the provinces of Manitoba and New Brunswick, Canada. Our Housatonic teams have had competitive finishes in a pool of 54 North American teams placing 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th and 16th respectively.   Students have the opportunity to earn scholarship money through our sponsor, the Canon Corporation, which awards over $100,000 in scholarships each year. Students are welcome to join the team regardless of grade or time of year. All that is required is an interest in the environment and a willingness to work together and support one another.   In addition, students are able to receive credit through independent study.

Students interested in joining the North American Envirothon program or just checking it out are invited to contact Mr. Moran in room 362 or his email: dmorn@hvrhs.org. Anyone who is interested in exploring this opportunity is welcome to attend.

The State Envirothon site can be explored at ctenvirothon.org and the North American site can be found at www.envirothon.org. This North American and now International program will allow you to apply your love for the environment to become a wise steward of our natural resources. It will allow you to walk in the footsteps of Muir, Leopold and Carson and potentially visit and study in some beautiful places both locally and throughout the United States and Canada.