COLUMBUS, OH - One hundred students from 18 high schools, representing every part of the state, will converge at Marietta College on Sunday, June 13 through Tuesday, June 15 for the 2004 Ohio Envirothon. The annual event is an outdoor academic competition that tests students' knowledge of soil and land use, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology and current environmental issues. Sponsors of this competition include the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Soil and Water Conservation and the Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Conservation Districts.
The top four teams from each of the state's five regions will compete to answer questions at field test sites and prepare a short oral presentation on this year's topic: Natural resource management in the urban environment. Students work cooperatively in five-member teams to answer questions prepared by ODNR, Marietta College, Washington State Community College, The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, Wayne National Forest, and soil and water conservation districts in Muskingum, Licking, and Washington counties.
This year's competitors represent Delta Future Farmers of America (FFA), Cory-Rawson High School, Fort Jennings High School, and Bluffton High School in northwest Ohio; Waynesdale High School, Chardon High School, and Youngstown East Home Schoolers in northeast Ohio; New Lexington FFA, River View High School, West Muskingum FFA, and East Knox FFA in east central Ohio; Franklin High School, Miami Valley Career Technology Center, and Milton-Union High School in southwest Ohio; and Piketon High School, Chief Logan FFA, Logan Elm High School and Athens High School in southeast Ohio.
Winners of the statewide competition will travel to West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia for the international Canon Envirothon, scheduled for Monday, July 26 through Sunday, August 1.
Additional sponsors for the 2004 Ohio Envirothon include American Electric Power, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Education Fund, the ODNR Division of Wildlife, Mead Westvaco, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Pheasants Forever, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Conservation Districts, the Ohio Wetland Foundation, and American Express Financial Advisors, Inc.