Students spring into action at York Region's Envirothon Challenge

Two-day interactive outdoor workshop teaches critical thinking

Yorkregion.com
April 12, 2019
Steve Somerville

Fifty York Region high school students and 10 teachers participated in the region’s eighth annual Envirothon Biodiversity Challenge at the Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre, part of the Hollidge Tract of the York Region Forest in Whitchurch-Stouffville.
It is a two-day interactive outdoor educational eco-challenge to learn how sensitive forest and wetlands are affected by human land use that includes farming, nearby and proposed communities, golf courses and transportation systems.

The five team-oriented workshops in the program aims to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Students study soil quality and attributes, wildlife, aquatics, agro-ecology and forestry. The group will return April 24 to compete on what they learn here and study further, with the winners moving on to a province-wide competition.

“One of the benefits is [students] get to learn about and see the connections between the natural environment and the health of our communities,” said York Region Stewardship Specialist Heidi Breen, a keen advocate for the program and York Region's forests.

"One of the unique aspects of this program is the hands-on experience. This could be touching the soil, testing the water, identifying trees and wildlife," said Alex Payne, an educator with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority who leads the aquatics workshop where teams inspect creek water quality.

The York Region Envirothon is part of the wider Ontario Envirothon and the North American Envirothon. Partners in this region’s program include Forests Ontario, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, York Environmental Stewardship and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.