The
Canon Envirothon is a multidisciplinary,
hands-on natural resources education event
that tests the practical knowledge of teams
of students from across North America.
Alaska Association of Conservation
Districts (AACD) is the sponsor for the
state Envirothon event in Alaska. Held
each spring in conjunction with the
state
FFA Convention, the event puts an
Alaskan spin on the national issue. In
the problem solving portion of the
competition, students provide mock
solutions to real Alaska resource
issues. In 2004, the students came up
with ways to improve the
Chena River and
Chena
Slough in the
Fairbanks area. In
2005, when the national theme was
Managing Cultural Resources, students
drew up plans to develop diverse
historic resources near
Eureka. In 2006,
the students looked at hard choices
regarding water issues during global
climate change.
Homer students win Envirothon '07
A field of 87 participants couldn't
vanquish
Homer FFA's dominance in the
Alaska Envirothon, with Homer's "Eagle"
team taking the top prize for the 2007
event held at
Chena Hot Springs Resort.
A team made up of juniors not only
won the competition but nearly swept the
top spots in all five categories.
Graduating junior Chelsey Nieman
finished first in both the wildlife and
soils competitions, second in ecology
and energy, and third in forestry.
Hannah Bradley finished first in
forestry and energy, second in wildlife
and soils, and third in ecology. Katie
Connor had the top score in ecology,
second in forestry, and fourth in soils
and wildlife. Tyler Haas was third in
soils and wildlife. Anna Duz finished
fourth in ecology.
The Homer team also had the highest
score on their presentation of an energy
issues. The students had to develop a
plan for a sustainable and economically
viable energy program for Akutan. The
winning team proposed enlarging and
updating the existing hydro plant, then
using fish oil from the fish plant to
substitute for diesel then plan for and
develop geothermal energy and eventually
work on installing wave generators. That
would pay for itself in a twenty year
period and provide for enough power to
sell to the fish plant, provide for
growth and provide a fail-safe
sustainable energy program for years to
come.
A new team to the competition,
Kodiak, finished second in both the
presentation phase and the overall
competition. Third place was captured by
a second Kodiak team.
Tests were written and proctored by
resource experts from the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, Chena
Hot Springs Resort, Alaska Village
Initiatives and DNR Forestry, all
coordinated by NRCS's Cassandra Stalzer.
Envirothon: Hands-on learning
The Canon Envirothon is a
multidisciplinary, hands-on natural
resources education event that tests the
practical knowledge of teams of students
from across North America. Alaska
Association of Conservation Districts is
the sponsor for the state Envirothon
event here. Held each spring in
conjunction with the state FFA
Convention, the event puts an Alaska
spin on the national issue. In the
problem-solving portion of the
competition, students provide mock
solutions to real Alaska resource
issues. In 2004, the students came up
with ways to improve the Chena River and
Chena Slough in the
Fairbanks area. In
2005, when the national theme was
Managing Cultural Resources, students
drew up plans to develop diverse
historic resources near Eureka. In 2006,
the students looked a hard choices
regarding water issues during global
climate change.
Alaska Envirothon students learn
about the state's trees, soils and
wildlife. They learn how to test water
for oxygen content. They become familiar
with practical applications in forestry
and other related disciplines.
is a multidisciplinary,
hands-on natural resources education event
that tests the practical knowledge of teams
of students from across North America.
