The competition covers five categories: soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology, and environmental issues.  Teams rotate through time-limited test stations (4 at the regional and state levels, 5 at the national level) that utilize a problem solving approach as well as testing general knowledge and identification abilities. Environmental issues are interwoven into the other four topics.  Additionally, an oral presentation dealing with a current environmental issue must be given at the state and national levels.   

At each station, the team works as a group and only one answer sheet is completed. As each group completes a station, their answers will be taken to the official scorekeepers.  The answers are checked, tallied and entered on the official scorecard.  At the end of the competition, there is a review session during which teams have the opportunity to look at their scored tests to note which questions they missed.  No tests are taken home by any team.

General Format

Students work in their five member teams to discuss and answer all questions.  Teams rotate through time-limited stations where they answer multiple choice and short-answer questions that test their basic knowledge, identification skills, the use of basic equipment and procedures and the ability to interpret and apply that information to real-life scenarios. Each station addresses one of the four topical areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and wildlife with environmental issues being addressed in each of the four areas.   At the regional competitions, the emphasis will be placed on knowledge of scientific principles and concepts. General understanding of biology, chemistry and earth science as they relate to environmental issues will also be tested. Questions get more involved and challenging as the state and national levels.  Additionally, at the state and national levels, participating teams will be required to prepare and present how they would address a current environmental issue during an oral session.  Details on this problem will be sent to all state competitors several weeks prior to the state competition.