ARDMORE, Okla. — Noble Academy, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation’s youth education and outreach program, will host the 2015 Oklahoma Envirothon state competition on Friday, April 24, at the Noble Foundation’s campus in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Envirothon is an environmental science- and team-based competition for high school students and is part of an established North American Envirothon program. “This competition is an exciting, fun way for students to learn about the environment and the issues facing current and future generations,” said Frank Hardin, Ph.D, Noble Academy education outreach manager. “The Oklahoma Envirothon will demonstrate the role we have in important environmental issues through in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences.”
Teams will study resource materials to learn the fundamentals of natural resources management in five areas of study: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and this year’s special topic, urban forestry. By working alongside natural resource professionals and scientists, students will:
· Learn about soil structure, interpret maps, and evaluate land forms and soil characteristics that affect agriculture and development issues.
· Asses the quality of delicate aquatic ecosystems, identify aquatic organisms, manage watersheds and determine nonpoint source pollution.
· Develop an understanding of the practices for maintaining healthy forest ecosystems and learn the basics of species identification, forest structure and dynamics, as well as management approaches.
· Learn about animal populations, their dynamics and the importance of habitat conservation.
· Explore the facets of the current environmental issues and illustrate the complexity of real-life environmental decisions.
Students will have the opportunity to travel within Oklahoma to address real-life environmental issues affecting the state. Noble Academy will sponsor the winners of the state competition to travel to and compete in the international competition in Springfield, Missouri.
A completed team packet must be submitted and postmarked no later than Friday, April 3, 2015. For more information and to register, please visit www.oklaenvirothon.org.