High School Contests

Home Education High School Contests

Credit: Lori Potter, Kearney Hub

Envirothon

The Envirothon is an environmental and natural resources education competition, reaching more than 25,000 high school students across the United States, Canada & China annually. The Nebraska Envirothon is a competition designed for high school students (9th-12th grades) to test their knowledge about the environment.  Five-member teams compete to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and a current environmental issue. The top team from each state, province and nation partner participate in the annual NCF-Envirothon. The goal of the annual competition is help shape our future leaders’ knowledge in natural resources issues.

Envirothon Competition Qualifies 14 Teams for State

Between Jan. 31 and March 7, Nebraska high school students competed around the state during regional Envirothon competitions demonstrating natural resources knowledge by identifying trees and animal tracks, calculating the number of steers on rangeland, and determining soil structure. The winning teams from each Envirothon region as well as eight wildcards – selected based on their competition scores – qualify to compete at state. Out of the 71 teams that competed, this year’s state qualifiers include:

Regional Winners/Wild Cards
Southeast: Beatrice, Mid-Plains, Overton
Central: St. Paul
Metro: Concordia 1 (Omaha)
West: Gordon Rushville
Northeast: West Holt
Wild Cards: Milford, Burwell, Ord, Concordia 2 (Omaha), Tri-County, Norris, Zoo Academy (Omaha), Bennington

Traditionally, Nebraska’s six regional Envirothon competitions are hosted in conjunction with district agriculture education contests. High school students compete on five-member teams in seven environmental areas including: soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range, policy and a current environmental issue.

Qualifying teams will compete at the State Envirothon April 24, at Ponca State Park near Ponca, Nebraska. During the state competition, teams compete in hands-on environmental testing stations as well as prepare and deliver an oral problem-solving presentation focusing on “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.”

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Foundation awards cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition:
First Place: $1,500   |   Second Place: $1,000   |   Third Place: $500

Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon

CENTRAL REGION CONTEST
Central Platte NRD & Lower Loup NRD co-host the Central Region competition in Columbus at the Central Community College-Platte Campus. Note: Schools may compete at ANY regional contest; however, you may only compete in one regional contest per year.  Flexible Testing Flexible times are allowed for students competing in District Ag sessions.

Your Contacts:
Alan Bartels, Lower Loup NRD      Email: abartels@llnrd.org      |   Tel: (308) 728-3221
Brody Vorderstrasse, Central Platte NRD     Fax: (308) 385-6285     |   Email: brody@cpnrd.org     |   Tel: (308) 395-7590
Marcia Lee, Central Platte NRD  |    Fax: (308) 385-6285    |    Email: lee@cpnrd.org     |   Tel: (308) 395-7551

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Foundation is the annual sponsor of the Nebraska Envirothon. NARD Foundation gives $1,500 to the 1st place winning team, $1,000 to 2nd place, and $500 to the third-place team. Each team must use the money to enhance their high school’s Envirothon and natural resources & agriculture programs. The winning team can also use it to help pay their way to the international competition. Each team member on the winning team is also awarded a $500 scholarship by UNL to be used towards a major in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.

2023 CONTESTS
Dawson County Envirothon Club Qualifies for International NCF-Envirothon
Pelicans and turkeys welcomed high schoolers from across Nebraska to Lake McConaughy for the 31st annual Nebraska State Envirothon. Dawson County Envirothon Club took home the championship along with $1,500 and represented Nebraska at the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon in New Brunswick, Canada.  During the state competition, five-member teams were tested on their knowledge of aquatics, forestry, policy, range, soils and wildlife, as well as prepared and delivered an oral presentation focusing on a current environmental issue. The 2023 oral presentation theme “Adapting to a Changing Climate” challenged teams to propose a solution to a complex problem before a panel of judges. The NARD Foundation awarded cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition:

  • First Place ($1,500): Dawson County Envirothon Club (Dawson County, Nebraska)
  • Second Place ($1,000): Milford High School (Milford, Nebraska)
  • Third Place ($500): St. Paul High School (St. Paul, Nebraska)

Eighty-six teams competed in the regional contests during February and March, and 14 teams qualified to participate at the state competition. Dawson County Envirothon Club will represent Nebraska at the NCF-Envirothon July 23-29, 2023, to compete for a top prize of $15,000. The international NCF-Envirothon will be hosted at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada, and include more than 40 teams from the U.S., Canada, China and Singapore. Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon.

2023 CENTRAL REGION ENVIROTHON
Congratulations to the Central Region winners:
First Place:  St. Paul Team #1      Second Place: Ord Team #1        Third Place: Aurora

     CENTRAL REGION SCORES

State Envirothon Contest

Concordia Lutheran High School Qualifies for International NCF-Envirothon

Nebraska Students’ Natural Resources Knowledge Shines

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Amidst the picturesque Missouri River bluffs in northeastern Nebraska, high school students from across the state met at Ponca State Park for the 32nd annual Nebraska State Envirothon April 24, 2024. Concordia Lutheran High School from Omaha, Nebraska, took home the championship along with $1,500 and will represent Nebraska at the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon in Geneva, New York.

The Envirothon is an environmental education program for high school students that combines classroom learning and outdoor activities. The competition rotates around the state, and this year’s competition was hosted at Ponca State Park near Ponca, Nebraska.

“Envirothon allows students to get outdoors and learn about natural resources in a hands-on environment,” said Martin Graff, Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) president. “The activities are designed to help students become environmentally aware, action-oriented adults, but also exposes them to many exciting career opportunities.”

During the state competition, five-member teams were tested on their knowledge of aquatics, forestry, policy, range, soils and wildlife, as well as prepared and delivered an oral presentation focusing on a current environmental issue. Some of the immersive test questions require students to identify live snakes, measure trees, distinguish range grasses and test water quality.

The 2024 oral presentation theme “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future” challenged teams to propose a solution to a complex problem before a panel of judges. Teams presented as part of a hypothetical design committee whose mission was to evaluate and discuss the benefits and challenges of a proposed hydroelectric power plant.

“Students work together to research the current environmental issue, and consider the hypothetical impacts,” Graff said. “It is important to train students to think critically and problem solve, because they’ll encounter difficult issues in their lives and their future careers.”

The NARD Foundation awarded cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition:

First Place ($1,500): Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Second Place ($1,000): St. Paul High School
Third Place ($500): Overton High School
Additional prizes were awarded to the top teams in each testing category:

Aquatics: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Forestry: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Policy (Tie): Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha) & Overton High School
Range: Burwell High School
Soils: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Wildlife: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Oral Presentation: St. Paul High School

Sixty-eight teams competed in the regional contests during February and March, and 14 teams qualified to participate in the state competition.

Concordia Lutheran High School will represent Nebraska at the NCF-Envirothon July 28 to Aug. 3, 2024, to compete for a top prize of $15,000. The international NCF-Envirothon will be hosted at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, and include more than 45 teams from the U.S., Canada, China and Singapore.

In addition to Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, 2024 Nebraska Envirothon sponsors and partners included Farm Credit Services of America, HDR, Houston Engineering, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Nebraska FFA Foundation, Smithfield Foods, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources.

Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at www.nrdnet.org.

NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist Project

Engage your students during winter break by getting them back into nature! The NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist project is an exciting distance engagement opportunity designed to help continue the hands-on, experiential learning that is foundational to the Envirothon program. For more information about the project, including how to join, click here!

Land Evaluation

Land Judging is a high school competition that challenges students to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land evaluation. Land Judging enables each participant to learn how to recognize the physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship. Soil, land and home-site evaluation provide a setting for students to investigate the soils in their region, the environment that surrounds them and their effect on their daily lives. There are three divisions as part of the contest – students, adults, and professionals.

During the competition, students judge four soil pits using an evaluation card to make assessments on: soil depth, surface texture, permeability, slope, thickness of surface and erosion. Each evaluation card is scored and added together to determine overall scores for individuals and the team. In order to compete in the state contest, teams advance from one of the seven regional competitions hosted across the state in October.

South Central Contest  - hosted by CPNRD & NRCS in Buffalo County

TEAM RESULTS       INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 
 YOUR CPNRD CONTACT INFO:  (308) 385-6282  |  Marcia Lee lee@cpnrd.org  |  Brody Vorderstrasse  brody@cpnrd.org