The York County ENVIROTHON is an environment & ecology based educational learning experience for students, teachers and parents. A committee of volunteers help plan, coordinate and run the ENVIROTHON annually. Local corporate, individual, cooperating agencies, and nonprofit organizations donate time, talent and resources to make the ENVIROTHON possible.

HISTORY - The Envirothon program originated in Pennsylvania in 1979. Pennsylvania's State Conservation Commission and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts sponsored the program as an outdoor, hands-on competition for high school students. Only three county conservation districts held local competitions that year. 

Since 1979, the Envirothon program has grown dramatically. The first state Envirothon occurred in 1984, and the first national Envirothon was held in 1988. As many as 41 states and 7 Canadian provinces now compete in the Canon Envirothon each year - the culmination of each year's competitions.  

The ENVIROTHON originally allowed only high school students, but now we are one of only three counties in the state to offer our competitions beginning in the third grade. We now provide quality environmental education directly to over 800 public and private school students and their teachers representing over 70 schools from 14 school districts. And the educational resources we provide to participating schools reach far more students. 

PROGRAM - The York County ENVIROTHON is a yearlong, multi-media, and interdisciplinary environmental education experience.  The Envirothon focus areas (depending on grade level) are aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current issues topic that changes annually.

Teachers receive free resources study materials through the York County Conservation District. During the school year, materials are expected to be integrated into agriculture, science or vocational-technical curriculums, or used in  clubs or other extracurricular activities by the team's teacher, coach or parent.

Resources are selected and compiled by the ENVIROTHON committee from existing local, state and federal government agencies, industry, nonprofit organizations, and other sources. ENVIROTHON resources compliment and support the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Environment and Ecology academic standards.

County-wide competitions are held in late April and early May at the Izaak Walton League of America, York Chapter 67, the official "Home of the York County ENVIROTHON," near Dallastown.

Students in grades three through 12 compete at four grade levels, as a six-member team, rotating between testing stations. Student awareness, knowledge, attitude and applications are challenged at each station.

Students that participate receive a ribbon, certificate, tree seedling, T-shirt, snack and lunch. Teams earn awards for overall, place and category winners. Everyone is an ENVIROTHON winner!

The York County ENVIROTHON is made possible by generous donations of time, talent and resources from local individual, corporate, nonprofit, and government agency sponsors.

Learning Goals

The goals of the ENVIROTHON program are:

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Building awareness will help students cultivate awareness of the total environmental and acquire sensitivity to its limited resources.

bulletGaining knowledge will help students develop a basic understanding of the earth's ecological systems and the interdependence of humans with these systems.
bulletDeveloping positive attitudes will help students develop a set of positives values and attitudes about their environment and instill motivation and commitment to participate in actions geared towards enhancing, conserving and protecting it.
bulletDeveloping applications will help student's individual and team skills needed to identify, investigate and contribute to the resolution of environment and ecology issues and concerns.
 
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