Envirothon

Welcome to the Southwest Region Envirothon

The Elgin Stewardship Council in partnership with the Catfish Creek Conservation Authority has sponsored the Southwest Region Envirothon as part of the Ontario Envirothon beginning in 2009.  The Ontario Envirothon is a unique environmentally themed academic competition that immerses students in hands-on learning and discovery. This program offers budding environmental leaders a chance to explore education and career paths in the natural sciences and network with potential mentors. The Ontario Envirothon provides students with hands-on experience with forests, soils, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems, while team-based activities are designed to develop critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. The regional program challenges students to showcase their environmental knowledge for a chance to advance to the provincial competition. Here teams of students put their hard-earned knowledge to the test for the chance to represent Ontario in the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon for North America. For more information, please review details on the overall program: https://forestscanada.ca/en/program/ontario-envirothon or contact the Southwest Regional Co-ordinator:  ronjcasier@gmail.com  for details.

 This region includes the following school boards: Thames Valley District School Board, London District Catholic School Board, St. Clair District School Board, Lambton-Kent District School Board, Greater Essex Country School Board, St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

The Southwest Regional Envirothon is the entry level for secondary school student teams to participate in a challenging but fun environmental competition with opportunities to advance to the Ontario provincial competition as well as the North American competition which is in Starkville, Mississippi this season.  The region hosts two training sessions followed by the regional competition day which determines this region’s entry to the provincials. At the regional events students meet and interact with local professionals and experts that provide additional hands on and practical information. The provincial website provides the five learning modules and a variety of video, webinars, and social media platforms for the teams to learn the necessary background material in preparation for the competition.

Southwest Regional Events for 2026

Oral Presentation/Nonpoint Source Pollution Speakers Workshop.  Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in the Thames Room at the TVDSB Education Center, 1250 Dundas St., London

Field Studies Workshops. Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Springwater Conservation Area, 47719 Conservation Line, Aylmer

Competition Day. Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Springwater Conservation Area, 47719 Conservation Line, Aylmer

Detailed information and Schedules will be sent out to all registered teams prior to all events!

Ontario Provincial Competition

Sunday May 24 – Wednesday May 27, 2026, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

North American Competition

 Sunday July 19- Saturday July 25, 2026, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA.

On this website you will find links to resources, videos, as well as information regarding our competition. Information will be posting periodically, so please keep checking back! If you have any questions regarding the South West Region’s Envirothon, please contact Ron Casier at ronjcasier@gmail.com

Want to learn more on how Envirothon helps high school students meet learning objectives through this educational opportunity? Read more here

The following links provide more information and resources for four of the Topics regionally.  For more information and resources on all Five of the Topics please view the provincial website at https://forestscanada.ca/en/page/study-for-envirothon:

Aquatics

Forests Ontario Aquatics Study Guide (a lot of resources are listed in the References at the end as well)

Benthic MacroInvertebrates/Other Species:

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority’s Overview of Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Kettle Creek Conservation Authority Overview of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Monitoring

Learn with Ranger Em, Exploring the Aquatic World! VIDEO

Upper Thames Region Conservation Authority, Why Protect Aquatic Species at Risk, VIDEO

Surface/Groundwater Monitoring:

Kettle Creek Conservation Authority Overview of Surface and Groundwater Monitoring

Ontario Government on Protecting our Source Water (Drinking Water)

Join the team at the Catfish Creek Conservation Authority in learning about the importance of benthic macroinvertebrates and how climate change will impact our wetlands and local ecosystems

Soils

Forests Ontario Soils Study Guide (a lot of resources are listed in the References at the end as well)

Ontario Government: New Horizons: Ontario’s Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy

OMAFRA Soil Health (resources found on this page)

Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority Soil Health Monitoring

Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Preserving and Restoring Healthy Soil: Best Practices for Urban Construction

Learn with Ranger Em, The Dirt on SOIL! VIDEO

Upper Thames Region Conservation Authority VIDEO, Cover Crops Example Farm, links aquatics and soils

Join Doug Young, from the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, in learning about the diverse world of soils! Doug will explain soils profiles, soil horizons and textures.

Wildlife

Forests Ontario Wildlife Study Guide (a lot of resources are listed in the References at the end as well)

iNaturalist, Identifying Ontario’s Mammals

Carolinian Canada, list of resources for identifying Ontario’s wildlife

Humber College, Getting to Know Ontario’s Wildlife

Join Pud Hunter, a local wildlife expert in Southwestern Ontario, in learning about the diversity and complicity of the wildlife around us! Pud will give us the details on how to be “field” ready and the low down on some of our favourite local critters and creatures.

Forestry

Forests Ontario Forestry Study Guide (a lot of resources are listed in the References at the end as well)

Ontario Government, Forest Management Planning

Canada Government, More Information Regarding Sustainable Forestry in Canada

Upper Thames Region Conservation Authority VIDEO, shows how you can use tree planting to assist with aquatic/stream health