Acadia University and the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre are proud to be the hosts of NCF Envirothon in Nova Scotia. Envirothon is North America’s largest and fastest growing environmental education program.

The Envirothon program challenges high school students in grades 9-12 to learn about natural resources in a combined classroom and hands-on atmosphere. Envirothon fosters appreciation and respect for the natural world and expands students’ knowledge and comprehension skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Students develop leadership, problem-solving and team building skills using experimental learning in outdoor settings. Envirothon student learning focuses in five key areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, soils and current environmental issues. The current issue for 2025 is “Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change”.

Envirothon is a hands-on natural science academic program that challenges and engages students to think critically about the natural world around them and the role they play in it. Many students continue to environmental focused post secondary education and pursue successful careers in various aspects of environmental science.

Program Logistics

• Teams can be from any school in Nova Scotia, schools may also have more than one team. Teams spend the year learning about the five topics as they prepare for the Provincial Envirothon Competition
• A team must be a group of 5-6 students in grades 9-12. Note that 6 students are permitted on a provincial team, but the winning team representing Nova Scotia at the North American NCF Envirothon will have 5 members
• Teams usually divide the workload by having one student become the subject expert in one of the five knowledge areas
• Teams are encouraged to work with local resource professionals to enhance their learning
• The competition structure includes four written tests (forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology and soils and land use), completed as a team in the field, and one team oral presentation (current environmental issues)
• Team coordinators may be a teacher or a community volunteer. Please note that each school will have their own security protocols in place if a coordinator is not a current staff member

2025 Nova Scotia Envirothon

2024 Nova Scotia Envirothon

The 2024 Nova Scotia Envirothon was held Thursday May 9th and Friday May 10th at Acadia University. We were pleased to offer an exciting two-day competition with ten teams in attendance! To learn more about the event please click here.

Learning Resources

History of Envirothon

The Envirothon program boasts a successful history of providing hands-on environmental and natural resource management education to high school students and empowering young people with the competencies and motivation vital to achieving and maintaining a natural balance between quality of life and the quality of the environment.

The program was first established in Pennsylvania, in 1979, under the name Environmental Olympics. By 1988 the program name had changed to Envirothon and participants from three states were attending the annual competition.

In 2013 there were sponsorship changes and the National Conservation Foundation became the new coordinators of the Envirothon Program. 

In 2016 China joined the NCF- Envirothon program and held it’s first Envirothon- China competition for students participating in that country.

COVID-19 has impacted Envirothon in recent years. The 2020 competition was cancelled, and the 2021 competition was held virtually. The 2022 competition went ahead in person in Ohio, since then each year has seen a progressive shift back to normalcy.

Click here for a list of all past competition locations and current issues.

A Lasting Impact

Each year Envirothon positively influences the lives of thousands young people across the U.S., Canada, and China. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, staff of cooperating agencies, teachers and advisors, enthusiastic students, and valuable support and sponsorship from organizations like the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Smithfield Foods Inc., the U.S. Forest Service, the National Association of Conservation Districts, and many others, the Envirothon has proven to be an exciting and useful tool for educating the next generation of conservationists!