The spirit of competition motivates athletes, drives successful businesses, develops new ideas, and creates an arena for building knowledge and understanding.

The Envirothon is a program for high school students designed to cultivate a desire to learn more about our natural resources and environmental issues through competitive events.

Regional Envirothon competitions held each spring in parks and natural areas across Michigan yield top teams that can then go on to compete in the State Envirothon. The team who wins the state competition becomes the team to represent Michigan in the Canon Envirothon.

Students are challenged to use teamwork to answer questions related to our natural resources and to develop creative solutions to environmental problems. The motto of the Michigan Envirothon is, "Working together we can make a difference."

Olivet College offers scholarships to members on the first, second and third place teams.  Plaques, ribbons and other prizes are also awarded.  Teams are recognized for excellence in each Envirothon subject area test scores, the Community Outreach Project scores and for the overall test & Community Outreach Project scores combined.  There are usually some fun extra awards too!      Participation in Envirothon is something you can include in college applications, job applications, etc.  After all, it's an academic competition!

To compete in the state competition, students must also perform a Community Outreach Project in their own community. Team work, development of planning skills, fostering a sense of community and turning environmental knowledge into action are just a few of the skills realized by this component. What stands out most in these juried projects is the student’s highly evident pride in making a tangible difference. As student Erik Colegrove from Davison High School noted, “Community is the catalyst for ‘saving’ the environment. If the public is not persuaded to adopt new ideas, then change is precluded.”

Resource packets are available for all seven Envirothon subject areas. Contact the Michigan Envirothon Coordinator for more information.

Envirothon Contact Information

Today's students will be part of tomorrow's property owners, government officials, parents, and teachers. Make a fun investment in the future of our environment, contact the Michigan Envirothon Coordinator at mienvirothon@macd.org to find out how you can become involved in the Envirothon! Registration is now taking place.

Each year, the First Place Team at the Michigan Envirothon moves on to represent Michigan in the Canon Envirothon, North America's Largest High School Environmental Education Competition.

Envirothon receives grants and support from the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts, Michigan's Conservation Districts, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Consumers Energy Foundation, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, International Paper Foundation, Olivet College, Canon U.S.A., Canon Envirothon, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, University of Michigan and others.

Before competing, they spend research time with their team advisors and natural resource professionals to develop a greater understanding of the interactions between humans and their environment. At Envirothon competitions, the students test their knowledge of ecosystem processes with outdoor, site specific analysis.