Congratulations to this year’s T-shirt competition winners!
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Envirothon Teams and Coaches recognized for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education
Four Envirothon teams and their coaches were recognized today as part of a State House ceremony when Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Kathleen Theoharides honored 32 energy and environmental education programs at Massachusetts schools and nonprofits as part of the 25th Annual Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education (5/6/19).
Congratulations to Joyce Voorhis, Brockton High School; Joanne Bernier, Leicester High School; Sarah Johnson and Ann Taft, Fitchburg High School; and Angela Armstrong, Rockland High School for their contributions to environmental education, and to their teams for going above and beyond to learn and take action! EEA News Release is linked here.
2019 Massachusetts State Grange Sponsorship
Members of the Massachusetts State Grange presented a donation of $5000 to the MA Envirothon Steering Committee at the Spring Workshop. An additional $1500 of grant money will be made available to teams for the 2019-2020 program year
The Massachusetts State Grange will again sponsor the 2019 EnviroTrek Lunch at the Massachusetts Envirothon Competition on May 17th, 2019 at Sholan Farms in Leominster. Massachusetts Envirothon is extremely grateful for their continued support!
Ten $150 scholarships will be made available to teams for the 2019-2020 program year to cover materials, transportation or registration. To apply, fill out the form below! Applications are due by Aug 28, 2019 @ 5pm.
2019 Current Issue Problem posted
Students at Shepherd Hill Regional High School growing Abundant, Affordable, Healthy Food in Dudley
Teams preparing for the 2019 Massachusetts Envirothon have been sent the 2019 Current Issue Problem. Their presentations will feature research done in their local communities to answer: What should our community do right now to help ensure abundant, affordable, healthy food for all in 2050?
Please visit the Current Issue page for background information and presentation score sheets.
Fall 18 Workshop wrap up
Despite a reschedule, the Fall 2018 Envirothon workshop at UMass Amherst was a success!
Almost all the original presenters and teams were able to be there! 202 students and 34 coaches from 20 teams (Acton-Boxborough, Bedford, Bristol Aggie, Brockton, Central, David Prouty, Doherty, Fitchburg, Greenfield, Innovation, Leicester, Lexington, Monty Tech, Newton North, Oliver Ames, PVRS, Quabbin, Reading, Shepherd Hill, and SABIS) as well as 8 members of the USDA APHIS crew attended.
Massachusetts Envirothon wishes to thank the University of Massachusetts Amherst for the support that has made this event possible. In particular, we are grateful for the funding, time, and expertise provided by:
UMass College of Natural Sciences (CNS) (http://www.cns.umass.edu/)
UMass School of Earth & Sustainability (https://www.umass.edu/ses/), particularly
UMass Extension/Center for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (http://ag.umass.edu/extension-outreach)
15 unique sessions were offered (Final Agenda here)
Marion Larson from MassWildlife talks about Wild for Food
Mary Bell from UMass Amherst discusses the Food Recovery Hierarchy and eating “ugly” veggies
And our first ever (not your average) Resource Fair during lunch:
(not your average) Resource Fair featuring UMass student farmers, Cabot Co-op, USDA/NRCS and Mass Ag in the Classroom among others
We hope you’ll join us at our Winter Workshop on Feb 8, 2019 at Mt Wachusett Community College in Gardner.
Fall Workshop @ UMass is Rescheduled!
Please join us TUESDAY December 11, 2018 at UMass Amherst for our Fall workshop!
Thanks to the flexibility of teams and presenters we are back on board!
Newton North team represents Massachusetts at the 2018 NCF Envirothon
Five team members from the Newton North Envirothon Team traveled to Pocatello, Idaho in July to represent Massachusetts in the 2018 NCF Envirothon.
They put together a video talking about their EnviroTrek through the year and at the competition. Congratulations to Laura Schmidt-Hong and Einat Gavish co-captains, Eve Martin, Gus Betts-O’Rourke, and Ethan Gahm for all their hard work and to the rest of the team and coach Anndy Dannenberg for their support during the year!
Mass State Grange funding available
Thanks to a generous donation from the Massachusetts Grange, Mass Envirothon will offer a special opportunity to teams registered for the 2019 Mass Envirothon. Ten $150 scholarships will be available. Teams are invited to propose how they would spend this scholarship money – e.g. Envirothon-related equipment, field trips, transportation, or registration. The MESC will review and approve proposals at the October meeting. A check will be sent to teams that are selected. For follow up, teams will need to send us pictures with captions showing that they are making good use of the funds.
1/19 Update: 2 scholarships are still available and will be awarded at the March 7 MESC meeting.
To apply:
- Fill out the 2019_Program_Registration
- Return to Mass Envirothon with a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) of how you intend to use the money.
- Applications must be received by Wednesday October 17, 2018 at 5pm.
Learn more about the Massachusetts State Grange at massgrange.org
Prospective Coaches Program
Join us at the May 18 Competition to experience the excitement of our annual competition!
Massachusetts Envirothon special program for Prospective Coaches and Community Partners
Thursday May 18: 2018 Massachusetts Envirothon Competition
Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge.
8:30-2
Are you looking for ways to help high-school-aged young people connect with real people, real places, and real science issues in their own communities? Are you interested in learning more about local environmental issues and natural resources yourself?
Special program and lunch for prospective coaches. View a current issue presentation, tour the ecostations, network with current coaches, attend a session on the 2019 current issue or go on a short hike with a park interpreter. Grants may be available to help cover registration, transportation, or a substitute teacher. Teams do not have to be school based!
Draft Event Schedule Directions
To receive a final schedule and RSVP, fill out the form below by May 10:
Spring Workshop Wrap up
Saturday April 7, 2018 was snowy and cold, but fun! 60 students and 9 coaches from 11 teams (Brockton/Wildlands, Doherty, Fitchburg, Leicester, Lexington, Newton North, Newton South, Reading, Rockland, Shepherd Hill and Somerset Berkley) attended hands-on sessions in the morning and a Mini-Envirothon in the afternoon. As always, the excellent facilities and outdoor resources at Alden were enjoyed by all! Kelley Freda had the water sessions outside measuring flow and turbidity among other WQ indicators in one of the many streams flowing through the property. Joe Perry can measure trees anywhere, but there are a surprising number of species right by the back door. Flavio Sutti of Mass Audubon joined us for the wildlife sessions and actually enjoyed the fine layer of snow as it showed off some tracks on the wildlife habitat assessment hike. And the fabulous excavators at Alden dug Al Averill a soil pit! A huge thank you to Alden Lab for hosting us again!
Massachusetts Envirothon 