St John's from Mitchell County takes State Envirothon Title for second year

For the second time St. John's Catholic School from Beloit, Mitchell County won the Kansas Envirothon competition.  The St John's team will travel to Calgary, Alberta Canada's Mount Royal University in July to participate in the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon.  Follow Kansas Envirothon on Facebook to watch the teams adventure in Canada.  

Ten teams from across the state traveled to Camp Wood YMCA Camp at Elmdale in Chase County on April 23 for the 2025 Kansas Envirothon.  In addition to St. Johns, teams from Manhattan, Olathe North, Holton, Jefferson County North, Uniontown, Wakefield, Rock Creek, Ellsworth and Mission Valley all participated in the event. Braun explained that "the Envirothon Program started in Kansas in 1992 and is a hands-on environmental problem-solving contest for high school students focusing on seven natural resource areas."  Envirothon also serves as an introduction to careers in natural resource conservation for students who participate in the program.     

Teams heard from environmental professionals with Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks, the Kansas Forest Service, Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts.  These volunteers gave short presentations focused on aquatic ecology, forestry, rangeland, soils, and wildlife.  Students were also asked to prepare an oral presentation on a given scenario focused on prescribed burning.  After the presentations the teams then rotated back through the stations and completed a test on the topics.  Event winners were determined by their test and presentation scores in each category.  Prior to the state event teams were required to participate in one of four regional competitions held at Ellsworth, Soldier, Council Grove and Mound City earlier in April.  No minimum scores were required at the regional events to advance to the state competition.  

Envirothon teams are made up of 5 high school students. Typically, the students are from the same high school, but teams from 4-H groups, Scout troops, FFA teams and other organizations are allowed with prior approval from the Kansas Envirothon Committee. To start a team, find a group of students and/or Advisors who are interested and enthused about natural resources. Contact your local county Conservation District and ask for their help in finding resource material, organizing some field days and for their financial support. 

A complete list of results and team photos are available on the Kansas Envirothon website at https://www.kacd.net/envirothon.cfm