Forest Fridays: Envirothon 2025 | WeConservePA – Go Health Pro

by Ryan Reed

The annual state Envirothon competition will take place this coming Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Windber, PA. Each of the state’s 67 counties will be represented by a high school team that has advanced to the state competition by winning their respective county in a prior competition.

The annual state competition is an intense affair for many schools, whose participants and leaders engage the proceedings with a seriousness akin to a football powerhouse under the Friday night lights. In addition to obvious bragging rights, winners and runners up claim varying levels of scholarship money (into the thousands of dollars), as well as neat prizes, and the state winner earns a bid in the multi-national competition at Mount Royal University in Alberta, Canada. Last year’s grand champion was a team from Tennessee, whose five members shared the $15,000 top prize. Pennsylvania’s representative, Erie County, placed a very respectable eighth.

At the Envirothon, teams compete in field testing using their knowledge in five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues. A current environmental issue is chosen each year as the “hot topic” for the focus of this station, as well as the oral presentation component. This year’s current issue is Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change.

The DCNR Bureau of Forestry administers the forestry component, and I’ve been honored to design and help proctor the forestry exams the past four years. Designing a fair, yet rigorous exam that assesses all the preparatory resource materials is a challenge, but one made easier by an internal panel of reviewers whose feedback is greatly appreciated. Dozens of DCNR Forestry pros train students and advisors and help at the county and state competitions, so the overall effort of the agency is substantial. But it is a labor of love.

I’ve heard that one of the greatest acts of care that one can provide, one of hope and great faith in the future, is to educate. I can think of no other cause in more need- that of our environment- to invest in the future leaders whose efforts could make a real difference. Many thanks to all who invest in our youth through Envirothon and beyond, and the fantastic kids who make it all worthwhile!

For more information on Envirothon, please see: Pennsylvania Envirothon – Educating high school students in natural resource and environmental sciences.