The Massachusetts Envirothon is a statewide environmental education program that provides active, challenging science and citizenship learning experiences for high school age youth, and professional development for the teachers and community youth program leaders who work with them.  The Mass Envirothon draws on the expertise of the University of Massachusetts and state and federal environmental agencies for its curriculum.  Teams of students gain knowledge and skill in four areas of natural resource conservation:  forestry, wildlife management, soil science, and water resources.  Students also investigate a current environmental issue as it occurs in their community -- learning research skills, getting to know their local environment, making connections with scientists, local officials, and environmental activists, and preparing a presentation of their findings and recommendations.  The program builds through the year with workshops around the state, and culminates in a competition in May.  Teams receive recognition for environmental knowledge and skill, high quality research, and community service. The highest scoring team competes with teams from across the United States and Canada at the Canon Envirothon in the summer.  Some high school teachers have incorporated Envirothon materials into their courses, some use it as a focus for extra curricular environmental clubs.  In recent years UMass Extension has collected evaluation data on student learning and teacher professional development at the Envirothon.

Contact:
Will Snyder, University of Massachusetts Extension Service, http://www.maenvirothon.org/

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