ANNUAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Beaver County Conservation District hosts and/or provides educational materials for several different school programs each year. We send out announcements and invitations to schools and teachers prior to these events. If you would like to be added to one of the specific event mailing lists, please contact Lindsey Shepler, Environmental Educator.
BIRTH OF A TOMATO/BIRTH OF A TREE
The Birth of a Tomato program is offered to 3rd Graders and the Birth of a Tree program is offered to 4th Graders within Beaver County. The Conservation District provides seeds, Jiffy peat pellets, a growth tracking chart, and project instructions to participating classes. Students learn about plant growth by watching their own seeds sprout and compare growth rates of individual plants among their classmates.
Order forms for materials are sent to teachers in late January/early February. They are due back to the District by the end of March. Kits are then hand-delivered (or available for pick-up) in April.
ANNUAL COLORING CONTEST
The Annual Coloring Contest is held in the fall for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Graders in Beaver County. Each year, the Conservation District picks a coloring page from the PA Game Commission’s Wildlife Coloring Book which is sent to schools along with an invitation to participate and the due date for entries. The purpose of the coloring contest is to give elementary students a chance to learn about a wildlife species which they might see during a visit to one of Pennsylvania’s many parks or in their own backyards.
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The contest invitation is typically mailed out in September and the due date is scheduled for the end of October. District staff goes through all the entries for each grade and chooses and array of finalists. Judging is based on completeness, interpretation, skill, and aesthetics. The final judging of entries occurs on the day of the Conservation District’s November board meeting. Announcement of winners is then posted on the District’s website and Facebook page, and awards are mailed out in the following week(s).
ENVIROTHON
Envirothon is a competition which tests high school students on their knowledge of several environmental topics, including soil & land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and a current issue. Envirothon is not just a Beaver County competition. Each county in Pennsylvania holds its own Envirothon. Winners of the local competitions can then move onto the state Envirothon, and winners of the state competition can compete in the international Envirothon.
Beaver County holds both a junior and senior Envirothon, although only winners of the senior competition can move
onto the state competition. Many of our middle school teams which participate in the junior Envirothon continue on to compete in the senior Envirothon when they reach high school. Ranking teams of the state Envirothon have the chance to win scholarships.
Announcements for the county-level Envirothon are sent out to coaches, teachers, and school districts by the Conservation District in November. Reminders and additional information are sent out again in January. Study materials for the high school competition can be found on the PA Envirothon website (www.envirothonpa.org), but the Conservation District provides study materials for middle school teams. In addition to these materials, the Conservation District also has a collection of equipment, kits, and other hands-on items which schools can borrow to help their teams prepare for the competition. (See our Teaching Resources page for a list of these materials and information on borrowing them.)
The Beaver County Envirothon takes place at the Lodge at Bradys Run Park on a Wednesday in spring each year. Exact dates may change year-to-year to accommodate standardized state testing. Announcement of winners is posted to our website and Facebook page after the competition.
2024 Environmental Education Donation Request
The Beaver County Conservation District is seeking donations to support our environmental education offerings for students and families here in Beaver County. We divide these educational offerings into three categories: 1. the annual Envirothon, 2. our new Mobile Education Center, and 3. our environmental programs. Your support helps to ensure that students in Beaver County continue to have access to hands-on environmental education programs and get to experience new learning opportunities in their own communities! For more information please see the link below!
