While this program culminates in a competition, it is first and foremost an educational program designed to increase knowledge and awareness of our natural environment.
Students should put as much time and effort into preparation as they would for any competitive event, such as football or band, in which they hoped to be state champions. With the opportunity to win an expense paid trip for five students and two chaperones to a week-long competition, significant effort is expected.

Preparation should be ongoing throughout the school year. While knowledge of basic ecological concepts is essential, equally important is the exploration of sampling and testing procedures and techniques used in water quality analysis, soil determinations, wildlife management, and forestry. Familiarity with identification guides for plant and animal species is helpful. It is recognized that few schools have the equipment and expertise needed to study all of these topics, but all schools have a wealth of information available from local county conservation boards, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Natural Resources and local experts on environmental issues. A list of resource organizations is included in the resource packet that is provided after a team registration's is received.

Team work also should be emphasized. Learning to work together to explore new topics is important. While independent study is encouraged, students should meet regularly to discuss ideas and share different viewpoints. In the field of natural resource management, few issues are black and white. Consideration of many options and opinions should be encouraged to develop solutions that are environmentally, socially, and economically viable. Some teams prefer to have students specialize in specific areas of the competition, while others prefer that all team members have a solid background in all of the competitive categories.

Most importantly, this program should be fun! Field trips, speakers, demonstrations, and study should focus on increasing the interest of students in the natural environment. Certainly, winning the regional and state competitions may be an important goal for some teams, but creating a desire to learn more about environmental issues and increasing students' awareness of their natural environment should be paramount.

While some coaches use this program as part of their classroom curriculum, additional effort may be required in order to explore all of the topics. It should also be stressed that because of the highly competitive nature of this program at the Canon Envirothon, some of the material may be beyond the level normally taught in high school, especially for students in 9 and 10th grades. We would strongly discourage teachers from requiring students to participate in this program.

There are alot of resources now available online to print. (see upper right hand corner list) Due to prohibitive production/postage costs only first time participants will receive those materials in paper format, upon receipt of their team's registration fee. Everyone is encourage to download the list, and materials you feel beneficial to your team.