Michigan Envirothon
Michigan Envirothon is a hands-on, team-based environmental education competition for high school students. It challenges youth to think critically about real-world natural resource issues—guided by local experts and Conservation Districts.
2026 Michigan Envirothon State Competition
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 1:00 PM - Thursday, May 14, 2026 2:30 PM (EDT)
Fund the Future of Conservation Education
Core Topics
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Soils & Land Use
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Aquatic Ecology
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Wildlife
- Forestry
Teams build leadership, teamwork, and career skills while applying science to local conservation challenges.
Hands-On Learning
Students explore real conservation challenges through hands-on field experiences.
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Field Experience: Students participating in outdoor Envirothon activities.
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Team Learning: Working through watershed or field demonstrations.
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Applied Skills: Learning in greenhouse and agricultural environments.
Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders
The 1st place team from Michigan competition will advance to represent the state at the NCF-Envirothon—an international stage that brings together students from across the U.S., Canada, and China.
Michigan Envirothon is proudly supported in part by a grant from USDA-NRCS Michigan and is managed by the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts (MACD).
Get a full overview of the program, structure, and learning outcomes.
Why Envirothon Matters
The Michigan Envirothon isn’t just a competition—it’s a gateway into environmental careers, scientific thinking, and civic responsibility. Many past participants have gone on to study natural resources, biology, environmental policy, and more.
It’s where future land stewards take their first steps.
Stay Connected
Want to get involved? Follow the Envirothon Facebook page for updates below.
Community Outreach Project Guidelines
Teams may choose a project that is appropriate to the area where they live and can be anything that incorporates community outreach, sustainable environmental practices, or educational outreach.
Project Overview
The Community Outreach Project presentation counts for 10% of the overall score at the State competition. If any team chooses not to participate, they are not disqualified from winning the State competition, they will simply not earn a score for the COP and therefore will only be able to achieve a maximum score of 90%. Teams will produce an 8-12 minute video that will be shared prior to the competition and judged by a panel of 6 resource professionals and Michigan Envirothon committee members.
The top 6 presentations with the highest score achieved, will advance to be presented live to the full group of Envirothon teams from around the state on Thursday afternoon of the State competition. The top three will receive awards at the awards assembly on Friday.
The deadline to submit the video about the COP will be May 6th. The project itself does not need to be completed to turn in the video presentation about the project.
The Community Outreach Project presentation counts for 10% of the overall score at the State competition. If any team chooses not to participate, they are not disqualified from winning the State competition, they will simply not earn a score for the COP and therefore will only be able to achieve a maximum score of 90%.
Teams will produce an 8-12 minute video that will be shared prior to the competition and judged by a panel of 6 resource professionals and Michigan Envirothon committee members.
The top 6 presentations with the highest score achieved, will advance to be presented live to the full group of Envirothon teams from around the state on Thursday afternoon of the State competition. The top three will receive awards at the awards assembly on Friday.
The deadline to submit the video about the COP will be May 6th. The project itself does not need to be completed to turn in the video presentation about the project.
The Community Outreach Project presentation counts for 10% of the overall score at the State competition. If any team chooses not to participate, they are not disqualified from winning the State competition, they will simply not earn a score for the COP and therefore will only be able to achieve a maximum score of 90%.
Scoring Process
24 videos, 6 committee judges pick their top 6 by a point system of 10 pts for 1st, 9 pts for 2nd, 8 pts for 3rd, 7 pts for 4th, 6 pts for 5th and 5 pts for 6th and scores will be averaged across all 6 judges scores for 6 overall winners advancing out of the 24 teams.
Live Presentations
The scores will reset for the live presentations at the State competition. The top three will win awards and the other 3 will earn honorable mention status for advancing to the live competition.
Presentation Format
Each of the top 6 teams will have 15 minutes for their presentation, with 12 minutes reserved for presentation time and 3 minutes reserved for set up time. The time block for COP presentations will be 6 pm to 7:30 pm, after dinner, on Thursday of the state competition.
Additional Sharing
All teams will have the opportunity to share about their COP during dinner time on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Posters describing the COP are not required but are recommended.