Outreach and Education

“Only the educated are free”

~Epictetus

The District is involved with many education and outreach programs throughout the county. In addition to the programs and events described below, the District would be happy to come to your classroom or give a presentation to your organization on natural resource issues—including agriculture, stormwater, land-use issues or water quality. Contact the District for more information.

Envirothon

The Envirothon is a national, natural resource competition for high school students, each representing a single high school, progressing from the county or regional competition to state and national levels. Envirothons are organized by local Soil and Water Conservation Districts in partnership with school teachers. Teams include three to five students.

The Envirothon began in Pennsylvania in 1979. New York State held its first Envirothon in 1990 and Schuyler County held its first Envirothon in 1997.

The Envirothon competition involves five categories on which teams are tested: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and a current events category that changes each year. The current events category has covered topics such as greenways, pesticides, watersheds, wildfire management, wetlands, agriculture and climate change.

High school students from all three Schuyler County schools participate in the Southern Tier Regional Envirothon (held annually the last Thursday of May in Owego, NY) competing against other teams from the County. The winner of the County Envirothon then goes on to compete at the State Envirothon.

The District organizes the regional event with other participating SWCD’s (Chemung, Tioga, Tompkins, and Broome). In addition to organization and putting together educational programs and training for the teams, the District is responsible for fund raising. Various incentives for sponsorship for you or your organization include District Newsletter acknowledgement, “Friends of the District” status and conservation blue bird boxes. To become a sponsor of this event contact the District today or download the Envirothon Brochure.

Conservation Field Day

The Conservation Field Day event is a joint education experience organized by the District and Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development. Every year since 1963 the 6 th grade students from Watkins Glen Elementary and Odessa-Montour Central Schools travel to an outdoor location to learn about the environment from environmental professionals. Past locations have included Watkins Glen State Park, the Hector Land Use Area at the Finger Lakes National Forest, and Hidden Valley 4-H Youth Camp.

The CFD event allows students a unique educational experience learning about environmental issues and concepts directly from the professionals in the field. Topics covered in the past have included watershed concepts, outdoor awareness, ornithology, geology, wetland ecology, recycling, tree identification, agriculture, and among others. If you would like to learn more or become a presenter for this event contact the District.

Earthday