Sept. 18, 2008
Vol. 38, No. 426

For more information, contact Michelle Jacobs, Community Relations Officer, 302-739-9921, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Orientation Workshop Kicks Off 14th Annual Delaware Envirothon

The 14^th season of the Delaware Envirothon, sponsored by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts, begins with an orientation workshop from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Service (Paradee Building), 55 Transportation Circle in Dover.

The Delaware Envirothon provides challenging environmental education to participating teams of high school age students and hands-on instruction in the areas of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils/land-use, wildlife, public speaking and a current environmental topic. The topic for 2009 is Biodiversity in Changing World.  The orientation workshop will provide an overview of this year’s areas of study. More information about the Delaware Envirothon can be found on its web site at www.delawareenvirothon.org. 

Adult advisors are needed to guide the teams in their preparations. Advisors can be a parent, school teacher, 4-H club leader, scout leader or other adult volunteer. Teachers are eligible to receive three clock hours of credit for attending the orientation.  

Teams will be competing in the Delaware Envirothon on April 30, 2009 to receive college scholarships and to represent Delaware at the 2009 Canon Envirothon next summer in Asheville, N.C. 

“Our Delaware State Champions, representing the Charter School of Wilmington, recently returned from the Canon Envirothon competition where they took first place beating out teams from 44 other states and nine Canadian provinces,” said Michelle Jacobs, Chair of the Delaware Envirothon planning committee. “We’re really excited to begin preparations for the 2009 competition.” 

To register for the workshop or to receive additional information about the program, contact Kerin Hume at 302-741-2600.