Texas Teens in Top Five at 2006 Canon Envirothon Competition

The five-member team from John Cooper High School located in The Woodlands, Texas, won third place overall at the 18th Annual 2006 Canon Envirothon at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, July 23-29, 2006. They also had the highest score in the wildlife field station. Each team member received a $3,000 scholarship from Canon USA to be used at a college or trade school of the student’s choice.

After 500,000 students from North America entered the initial competitions, 52 teams (44 from the U.S. and eight from Canada) qualified to compete in the 2006 Canon Envirothon. This is North America’s largest high school environmental education competition.

Dennis Brezina, NRCS Soil Scientist, Bryan Zone office, coached the team at a "mock" Envirothon at Mercer Park in Houston in January. The Woodlands team placed first at the State Envirothon in Longview, Texas, this April. Brezina also helped organize and assisted with the state competition.

Wendell Daniel, RC&D Coordinator; John Fancher, District Conservationist; along with members of the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District, helped educate the team on soils, grasses, grass management, and grazing. The Texas Forest Service provided training for forestry practices.

One of the driving forces for the team comes from Tina Davies, a teacher at John Cooper High School. Tina won the honor of being the Conservation Teacher of the Year 2003 from Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. Tina and her husband, Dave, accompanied the team to the Envirothon in Canada. They have been cooperators with the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District since 1998.

The Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District supports this team financially along with the Harris County Soil and Water Conservation District. The Environmental Institute of Houston at the University of Houston-Clear Lake heads up the Texas Envirothon and encourages all districts to assist their local schools in building a team to participate in future Envirothons.

In written field tests, five-member teams compete in specific knowledge areas including soils/land use, forestry, aquatic ecology, wildlife, and a current issue that changes annually. This year’s current issue addressed water stewardship in a changing climate. Teamwork, problem solving, and oral presentation skills were evaluated as each team offered a panel of judges an oral presentation containing recommendations for solving the different aspects of this year’s current issue.

For more information about the Texas Envirothon, visit www.texasenvirothon.org

To view a picture of the winning Texas team and to learn more about the Canon Envirothon go to: http://www.envirothon.org/index.php

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