Maryland Teens Get Ready for First Round of Environmental Education Competitions

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 31, 2011) Teenagers across Maryland are trading their cell phones and MP3 players for binoculars, insect nets and specimen jars as they return to the great outdoors to compete in the first round of environmental qualifying heats leading up to the 2011 Canon Envirothon, North America’s largest environmental education competition for high school students.

“Envirothon is an excellent way to engage young people in the natural world as opposed to the virtual world of computers and other electronic media,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. “Young people represent the next generation of farmers, natural resource managers and environmental leaders.   Envirothon allows them to experience real life environmental issues first hand while honing their problem solving skills. It’s a great program all around.”

Students participating in the Envirothon have been studying the state’s natural resources over the course of the school year.  As part of this extracurricular training, teenagers identify and categorize living resources, perform soil surveys, estimate wood yield from trees, and solve other complex natural resource issues. They receive hands-on instruction from soil scientists, wildlife specialists, foresters and environmental engineers from local, state and federal agencies as well as private environmental organizations. The program also focuses on a special environmental issue that changes from year to year.  This year’s environmental issue is estuaries.

Teams compete by applying their knowledge and problem-solving skills in these areas. The county team with the highest cumulative total wins the local or regional competition and advances to the Maryland Envirothon scheduled for June 15-16, 2011 at St. Mary’s College in historic St. Mary’s City.   The winner of the Maryland Envirothon will represent the state later this summer at the 2011 Canon Envirothon where more than 300 of the brightest teenagers from the United States and Canada will compete for $40,000 in scholarships and prizes.

Envirothon is sponsored by Maryland’s soil conservation districts and the State Soil Conservation Committee. The dates and contacts for upcoming county Envirothon competitions are listed below.

Allegany Envirothon Competition
Date:           April 8, 2011
Place:          Rocky Gap State Park
Contact:      Craig Hartsock, 301-777-1747, ext. 3

Anne Arundel Envirothon Competition
Date:         April 8, 2011
Place:        Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center
Contact:     John Czajkowski, Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District, (410) 571-6757

Baltimore County Envirothon Competition
Date:          April 14, 2011
Place:         Days Cove Nature Center
Contact:     Jim Ensor, Baltimore County Soil Conservation District, (410) 527-5920

Calvert Envirothon Competition
Date:         April 6, 2011
Place:          King’s Landing Park
Contact:        William Clark, Calvert Soil Conservation District, 410-535-1521, ext. 3

Carroll Envirothon Competition
Date:            April 20, 2011
Place:         Hashawha/Bear Branch Center
Contact:               Ed Null, Carroll Soil Conservation District, (410) 848-8200

Cecil Envirothon Competition
Date:                   May 11, 2011
Place:        Fair Hill Nature Center
Contact:            Charles Hayes, Cecil Soil Conservation District, (410) 398-4411

Charles Envirothon Competition
Date:           April 27, 2011
Place:          Gilbert Run Park
Contact:      Dee Dee Saunders, Charles Soil Conservation District, (301) 934-9588

Frederick County Envirothon Competition
Date:          April 26, 2011
Place:          Cunningham Falls State Park, William Houck Area
Contact:               Barry Burch, Walkersville High School, 240-236-7297

Garrett Envirothon Competition
Date:           May 12, 2011
Place:          Western Maryland 4-H Center at Bittinger
Contact:      Shaun Sanders, Garrett Soil Conservation District, 301-334-6950, ext. 3

Harford Envirothon Competition
Date:           April 28, 2011
Location:             Eden Mill Nature Center
Contact:              Frank Marsden, Eden Mill Nature Center, 410-836-3050

Howard Envirothon Competition
Date:           April 12, 2011
Place:          Howard County Conservancy’s Mount Pleasant Farm, Woodstock.
Contact:              Kristal M. McCormick, Howard Soil Conservation District, (410) 489-7987

Montgomery Envirothon Competition
Date:         April 13, 2011
Place:          Agricultural History Farm Park
Contact:    David Plummer or James Harne, Montgomery Soil Conservation District, (301) 590-2855

Prince George’s Envirothon Competition
Date:           May 11, 2011
Place:          William S. Schmidt Center
Contact:               Debbie Sandlin, Prince George’s Soil Conservation District, (301) 574-5162, ext. 3

St. Mary’s Envirothon Competition
Date:          April 13, 2011
Place:          Hunter’s Hill Farm
Contact:      Hayley Carter, St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District, (301) 475-8402, ext. 3

Washington County Envirothon Competition
Date:            April 15, 2011
Place:                  Fairview Outdoor School
Contact:              Elmer Weibley or Ginger Noble, Washington County Soil Conservation District, (301)797-6821, ext. 3.

Eastern Shore Regional Envirothon Competition
Date:           First week of May 2011 (date to be determined)
Counties:    Teams from Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset and Talbot counties will participate.
Place:                 To be determined.
Contact:    Karen Miller, Kent Soil and Water Conservation District, (410) 778-5150, ext. 3

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