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Envirothon Nebraska logoEnvirothon

Congratulations to the Dawson County Envirothon Club! After taking the top spot at the State Envirothon, the team represented Nebraska at the NCF-Envirothon July 20-26, at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  In addition to tests in aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and a current environmental issue, teams prepared a 20-minute presentation on this year’s theme, “Roots and Resiliency: Fostering Forest Stewardship in a Canopy of Change.”

Nebraska had a top 10 oral presentation score placing No. 8 with 177.33 points out of 200.
Overall, the team placed 25th with 514.33 points. Top places went to the following:
First: Massachusetts (620.67 pts)
Second: Maryland (619.67 pts)
Third: New York (571.67 pts)

The 2025 NCF-Envirothon included 50 teams from the U.S., Canada, China. The 2026 NCF-Envirothon will be hosted at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, July 19-25, 2026.

Dawson County Envirothon Club at the NCF-Envirothon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dawson County Envirothon Club at the NCF-Envirothon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. From left, Janice Wolfinger, Paige Walahoski, Jaelin Wolfinger, Casey Wahlgren, Parker Walahoski, and Brooklyn Reiman.

The NARD Foundation awarded cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition:
First Place ($1,500): Dawson County Envirothon Club
Second Place ($1,000): Concordia Lutheran of Omaha
Third Place ($500): Tri-County Public Schools

Additional prizes were awarded to the top teams in each testing category:
Aquatics: Dawson County Envirothon Club
Forestry: Tri-County Public Schools
Policy: Dawson County Envirothon Club
Range: Dawson County Envirothon Club
Soils: Dawson County Envirothon Club
Wildlife (Tie): Dawson County Envirothon Club and St. Paul
Oral Presentation: Dawson County Envirothon Club

Seventy teams competed in the regional contests during February and March, and 14 teams qualified to participate in the state competition. Dawson County Envirothon Club will represent Nebraska at the NCF-Envirothon July 19-26, 2025, to compete for a top prize of $15,000. The international NCF-Envirothon will be hosted at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and include more than 45 teams from the U.S., Canada, China and Singapore.

In addition to Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, 2025 Nebraska Envirothon sponsors and partners included Farm Credit Services of America, HDR, Houston Engineering, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Nebraska FFA Foundation, Smithfield Foods, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources.

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at www.nrdnet.org.

The Envirothon is an environmental and natural resources education competition, reaching more than 25,000 high school students across the United States, Canada & China annually. The Nebraska Envirothon is a competition designed for high school students (9th-12th grades) to test their knowledge about the environment.  Five-member teams compete to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and a current environmental issue. The top team from each state, province and nation partner participate in the annual NCF-Envirothon. The goal of the annual competition is help shape our future leaders’ knowledge in natural resources issues.

Your Central Envirothon Contacts:

Alan Bartels, Lower Loup NRD
Email: abartels@llnrd.org
Phone: (308) 728-3221

Brody Vorderstrasse, Central Platte NRD
Email: brody@cpnrd.org
Phone: (308) 395-7590
Fax: (308) 385-6285

Marcia Lee, Central Platte NRD
Email: lee@cpnrd.org
Phone: (308) 395-7551
Fax: (308) 385-6285

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Foundation is the annual sponsor of the Nebraska Envirothon. NARD Foundation gives $1,500 to the 1st place winning team, $1,000 to 2nd place, and $500 to the third-place team. Each team must use the money to enhance their high school’s Envirothon and natural resources & agriculture programs. The winning team can also use it to help pay their way to the international competition. Each team member on the winning team is also awarded a $500 scholarship by UNL to be used towards a major in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.

Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon

State Envirothon Contest

Concordia Lutheran High School Qualifies for International NCF-Envirothon

Nebraska Students’ Natural Resources Knowledge Shines

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Amidst the picturesque Missouri River bluffs in northeastern Nebraska, high school students from across the state met at Ponca State Park for the 32nd annual Nebraska State Envirothon April 24, 2024. Concordia Lutheran High School from Omaha, Nebraska, took home the championship along with $1,500 and will represent Nebraska at the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon in Geneva, New York.

The Envirothon is an environmental education program for high school students that combines classroom learning and outdoor activities. The competition rotates around the state, and this year’s competition was hosted at Ponca State Park near Ponca, Nebraska.

“Envirothon allows students to get outdoors and learn about natural resources in a hands-on environment,” said Martin Graff, Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) president. “The activities are designed to help students become environmentally aware, action-oriented adults, but also exposes them to many exciting career opportunities.”

During the state competition, five-member teams were tested on their knowledge of aquatics, forestry, policy, range, soils and wildlife, as well as prepared and delivered an oral presentation focusing on a current environmental issue. Some of the immersive test questions require students to identify live snakes, measure trees, distinguish range grasses and test water quality.

The 2024 oral presentation theme “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future” challenged teams to propose a solution to a complex problem before a panel of judges. Teams presented as part of a hypothetical design committee whose mission was to evaluate and discuss the benefits and challenges of a proposed hydroelectric power plant.

“Students work together to research the current environmental issue, and consider the hypothetical impacts,” Graff said. “It is important to train students to think critically and problem solve, because they’ll encounter difficult issues in their lives and their future careers.”

The NARD Foundation awarded cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition:

First Place ($1,500): Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Second Place ($1,000): St. Paul High School
Third Place ($500): Overton High School
Additional prizes were awarded to the top teams in each testing category:

Aquatics: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Forestry: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Policy (Tie): Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha) & Overton High School
Range: Burwell High School
Soils: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Wildlife: Concordia Lutheran High School (Omaha)
Oral Presentation: St. Paul High School

Sixty-eight teams competed in the regional contests during February and March, and 14 teams qualified to participate in the state competition.

Concordia Lutheran High School will represent Nebraska at the NCF-Envirothon July 28 to Aug. 3, 2024, to compete for a top prize of $15,000. The international NCF-Envirothon will be hosted at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, and include more than 45 teams from the U.S., Canada, China and Singapore.

In addition to Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, 2024 Nebraska Envirothon sponsors and partners included Farm Credit Services of America, HDR, Houston Engineering, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Nebraska Forest Service, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, Nebraska FFA Foundation, Smithfield Foods, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources.

Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at www.nrdnet.org.

NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist Project

Engage your students during winter break by getting them back into nature! The NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist project is an exciting distance engagement opportunity designed to help continue the hands-on, experiential learning that is foundational to the Envirothon program. For more information about the project, including how to join, click here!

Students at a land judging high school competitionLand Evaluation

Land Judging is a high school competition that challenges students to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land evaluation. Land Judging enables each participant to learn how to recognize the physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship. Soil, land and home-site evaluation provide a setting for students to investigate the soils in their region, the environment that surrounds them and their effect on their daily lives. There are three divisions as part of the contest – students, adults, and professionals.

During the competition, students judge four soil pits using an evaluation card to make assessments on: soil depth, surface texture, permeability, slope, thickness of surface and erosion. Each evaluation card is scored and added together to determine overall scores for individuals and the team. In order to compete in the state contest, teams advance from one of the seven regional competitions hosted across the state in October.

South Central Contest  - hosted by NRCS and Central Platte, Little Blue and Upper Big Blue NRDs.

Congratulations to the following students for placing at the State Competition!

Students and instructors from 39 high schools met near Wahoo to compete in State Land Judging Oct. 22, 2025. The Lower Platte North Natural Resources District (NRD) hosted this year’s competition. With sunny skies and calm conditions, students judged at the Lake Wanahoo Recreation Area. The site provided a good variety of soil parent materials for the students to see including loess, glacial till, clay loam, and silty clay.

“It’s imperative we get more young people outdoors learning about Nebraska through hands-on activities,” said Sydney Abbott, Lower Platte North NRD education coordinator. “This contest is an amazing opportunity for students to learn about the land they call home and make real-world natural resources management decisions that prepare them for a future career. From everyone at the Lower Platte North NRD, we congratulate the students who participated in land judging and especially those who qualified for the state contest.”

Land Judging is a high school competition that challenges students to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land evaluation. Teams consist of four students from the same FFA chapter, and a few individuals who qualified separate from a team. Each participant learns how to recognize the physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship.

During the competition, students judge four soil pits using an evaluation card to make assessments on: soil depth, surface texture, permeability, slope, thickness of surface and erosion. The evaluation card is scored to determine overall placements for individuals and the team. To compete in the state contest, teams advance from one of the seven regional competitions hosted across the state in October.

2025 State Land Judging Individual Champions:
Natalie Nutzman, Milford
Ryan Rempel, Beatrice
Ayzlee Haertel, Elmwood-Murdock
Carson Towle, Elmwood-Murdock
Preston Sjuts, Doniphan-Trumbull

2025 State Land Judging Team Champions:
Elmwood-Murdock (Ayzlee Haertel, Carson Towle, Grayson Schroll, Cami Dieter)
Heartland (Riley Quiring, Madalyn Janzen, Lane Farrall, Faith Hiebner)
Beatrice (Ryan Rempel, Savannah Bolli, Zeb Edeal, Emily Doyza)
Doniphan-Trumbull (Preston Sjuts, Jon Kovanda, Riley Bishop, Joe Schuler)
Syracuse (Kaden Knake, Ryan Damme, Drew Paulson, Baylor Borer)

These top five Nebraska teams will advance to the national competition hosted in El Reno, Oklahoma, May 5-7, 2026. For more information on Nebraska Land Judging, visit https://www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-land-judging-soil-evaluation.

Your CPNRD Contact Info
Marcia Lee
(308) 395-7551
lee@cpnrd.org

Brody Vorderstrasse
(308) 395-7590
brody@cpnrd.org