A team from Charlottetown Rural High School came out in first place in the recent ENVIROTHON competition in Brookvale. ENVIROTHON focuses on developing skills and understanding of the complexities of natural resource sciences and then putting these skills and concepts into action. This voluntary education program provides students with insights into the four core subjects of forests, wildlife, aquatics and soils sciences, decision-making processes, public speaking, and consensus building. Students also receive opportunities to meet with professionals in the various disciplines to discuss the science and decision-making processes involved in their daily work. This is the third year the competition was held in Prince Edward Island.
The Charlottetown Rural team will be representing Prince Edward Island at the international event in July 2003 in Maryland. They will compete with students from across North America to develop effective strategies to ensure that farmlands remain a vital part of our landscape and economy.
This year, students from several Island high schools accepted a challenge to learn more about the issues facing farm communities and our society, and develop effective and capable strategies to address these issues. Each year, students are challenged to put this knowledge into practice by addressing a special problem which incorporates the four core skills and a fifth topic. This year, students were challenged to develop strategies to protect and conserve agricultural lands to enable a farmer to earn a living by keeping land in agriculture, while complying with new environmental laws and regulations.
The organizers of the 2003 Provincial Forest ENVIROTHON thanked JD Irving Forest Products, Environment Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA, the Canadian Forestry Association, Nova Scotia Forestry Association, Natural Resources Canada, and the Prince Edward Island Departments of Agriculture and Forestry and Environment for their continued financial and technical support.