CONTACT: Sara Kangas, NACD Director of Communications
(202) 547-6223; sara-kangas@nacdnet.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 4, 2019

VIRGINIA TEAM Named 2019
NCF-EnvirothoN Champions

RALEIGH, N.C. – On Aug. 2, the Jamestown High School team from Williamsburg, Va., was named the champion of the 2019 National Conservation Foundation (NCF)-Envirothon, an international environmental and natural resources education competition for high schoolers.

“I’d like to congratulate the Jamestown team and all of the teams for their hard work and dedication,” NCF Chair Steve Robinson said. “Their knowledge about environmental and natural resource issues, as well as their commitment to these areas, have shown me that the future of conservation is in good hands.”

The winning NCF-Envirothon teams are awarded scholarships and prizes, with the top three scoring teams receiving $30,000 in total, thanks to the support of Smithfield Foods, Inc. As the largest corporate sponsor of NCF-Envirothon, Smithfield donated a combined $120,000 to support regional, statewide and international competitions throughout the year. In addition to financial support from the company, Smithfield employees donated their time and expertise to the program, serving as volunteer advisors to lead training sessions, facilitate program curriculum, and coordinate activities.

“Smithfield Foods is proud to support the NCF-Envirothon competition and award the next generation of natural resource professionals,” said Bill Gill, assistant vice president of sustainability for Smithfield Foods. “The dedication, passion and expertise of these high-schoolers is inspiring.”

Fifty-three teams across the U.S., Canada and China traveled to this year’s competition, hosted by North Carolina Envirothon, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Throughout the week-long competition, students demonstrated their knowledge on soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry and wildlife management through written tests and interactive stations featuring North Carolina’s natural resources. The teams also prepared oral presentations on this year’s current issue, “Agriculture and the Environment: Knowledge and Technology to Feed the World.”

The top teams from the competition are:

“The NCF-Envirothon competition began in 1979,” NCF-Envirothon Program Manager Jennifer Brooks said. “Forty years later, this program has grown and expanded its reach, but continues to encourage high school students to pursue environmental, conservation and natural resource-related fields.”

The 2020 international NCF-Envirothon competition will be hosted in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the University of Nebraska from July 26 – Aug. 1, where students will be tested on the 2020 topic, “Water Resources Management: Local Control and Local Solutions.”

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The mission of the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) is to identify and advance strategic programs and partnerships to deliver conservation solutions through locally-led conservation and to develop the next generation of conservation leaders. Learn more at www.nacdnet.org/national-conservation-foundation.

The NCF-Envirothon is a hands-on environmental problem-solving competition that builds leadership skills for high school students, grades 9-12 (ages 14-19), in the United States, Canada and China. The program educates future stewards, promotes E-STEM (environment, science, technology, engineering and math) education, creates community awareness and fosters appreciation and respect for the natural world. NCF-Envirothon is a program of the National Conservation Foundation (NCF), a 501(c)3 organization, and supported by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). As sister organizations, the NCF and NACD share a common mission of locally-led conservation with the NCF focused on developing the next generation of conservation leaders. Learn more at www.envirothon.org.