As a result of the State Envirothon held on May 28th at Nutting Hall, University of Maine in Orono, Jay High School will represent Maine at the international Canon Envirothon competition. The Maine Association of Conservation Districts awarded plaques to the three top-scoring high school Envirothon teams at the event. The first, second and third place winning teams respectively were: Jay High School, Dirigo High School from Dixfield, and Science Explorer Post #897 from Jay. Seventeen teams representing 16 high schools from around the state competed at this event.
Envirothon, Maine's largest high school environmental education program, is an international program representing over 500,000 high school students in the United States and Canada. First place Jay High School will represent Maine at the international Canon Envirothon competition to be held Ashville, North Carolina in early August. The international Canon Envirothon, organized by local conservation districts and other conservation agencies, is sponsored by Canon USA, in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, National Association of Conservation Districts, Mead Westvaco Corporation, American Electric Power, Inc., and Alcoa Foundation.
The major objective of the Maine Envirothon, an effective educational tool capable of supplementing environmental education both inside and outside the classroom, is to provide opportunities for high school students or organized groups of high school-aged students to acquire and increase their outdoor skills and scientific knowledge about Maine's natural resources so that they can make informed, educated decisions about the environment. It provides students with reference materials, workshops, and hands-on, outdoor, real life experiences in five areas including forestry, wildlife, soils, aquatics, and a current issue-this year being Biodiversity in a Changing World.
Other high schools competing in the State Envirothon finals included: Ashland, Boghaunter Home School, Bonny Eagle, Bucksport, Ellsworth, Hampden Academy, Hodgdon, Lee Academy, Livermore Falls, Mt. Ararat, Nokomis, Old Town and Piscataquis Community High School. The team from Greeley High School was also eligible for the State Envirothon but was unable to attend. These teams represented the top three winning teams from six regional competitions held around the state earlier in May.
The Envirothon program would not be possible without the financial and in-kind support, expertise and/or time commitment from many natural resource-related partners. Resource specialists who cooperated in the 2009 State Envirothon included: Maine Department of Agriculture, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Forest Service, Maine's Soil and Water Conservation Districts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Unity College and the University of Maine School of Natural Resources.
Major sponsors of the 2009 State Envirothon were: Plum Creek, a "Gold Sponsor"; Poland Spring, a "Silver Sponsor"; the Maine Association of Professional Soil Scientists; Maine Wild Blueberry Commission; Maine Potato Board; Maine Association of Site Evaluators; Maine Association of Wetland Scientists; Maine Department of Environmental Protection; New England Organics; University of Maine School of Natural Resources and Canon North American Envirothon. There were many other contributors and partners that helped to make this event possible for the benefit of the students and Maine's natural resources.
An Envirothon web site for all interested teachers and students is available at http://www.envirothon.org or http://maineenvirothon.org
