Students, teachers, volunteers and environmental professionals from across the province gathered in the Whiteshell last month for the 29th Annual Manitoba Envirothon, a three-day event focused on environmental education, outdoor learning and teamwork.
Redboine Watershed District staff and volunteers joined students, educators and environmental professionals from across Manitoba at the 29th Annual Manitoba Envirothon, held May 21-23 at Tim Hortons Camp in Whiteshell Provincial Park. District staff helped organize and deliver the three-day environmental education competition, which challenged high school students in wildlife ecology, aquatic ecology, soils and land use, plant ecology, agriculture and oral presentations while promoting conservation awareness, teamwork and leadership
Held May 21-23 at Tim Hortons Camp in Whiteshell Provincial Park, the Provincial Envirothon is hosted by the Manitoba Association of Watersheds and challenges high school students to test their knowledge through field activities, written testing and oral presentations.
The competition allows students to explore topics including wildlife ecology, aquatic ecology, soils and land use, plant ecology and agriculture while developing communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.
For more than 16 years, staff from the Redboine Watershed District have played a key role in both regional and provincial Envirothon events, and their involvement continued this year.
Each spring, Redboine Watershed District staff travel throughout Manitoba to assist with regional competitions. The district also hosts the first regional Envirothon event of the season and provides support to host organizations and students across the province.
At the provincial competition, technical staff members Rob, Sophia and Bronson assisted with logistics, event setup and field testing activities. Their responsibilities included organizing testing materials, preparing competition sites and helping coordinate the many components required to operate the large-scale outdoor event.
The district also stores much of the Envirothon equipment and event materials at its Holland facility, making preparation and cleanup a significant undertaking each year.
District manager Justin Reid attended the event and served as Trail Captain while assisting with logistics planning and event coordination.
Additional Redboine Watershed District staff and board members volunteered as trail monitors, stop attendants, judges, facilitators and test markers throughout the competition. Angie and Chelsea served as stop monitors and oral presentation facilitators, helping support both the field and presentation portions of the event.
Jennifer Hunnie continues to play a leadership role in the program as chair of the Envirothon Steering Committee. In addition to overseeing the provincial program, she serves as a discipline chair, helping develop testing materials, train students and coordinate event delivery across Manitoba.
A new feature introduced this year was the first Envirothon Career Fair. The addition gave students an opportunity to explore educational pathways and careers related to conservation, watershed management, agriculture and natural resources while speaking directly with professionals working in those fields.
The event concluded with an awards ceremony attended by Manitoba Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes, who helped present awards and recognize student achievements.
Grant Park High School captured first place overall, followed by Shaftesbury High School in second and Fort Richmond Collegiate in third.
Excellence awards were also presented in wildlife ecology, aquatic ecology, soils and land use, plant ecology, agriculture and management, and oral presentations.
The winning team will have the opportunity to represent Manitoba at the 2026 National Conservation Foundation Envirothon competition later this summer.
Organizers say the Envirothon continues to provide students with valuable hands-on learning opportunities while fostering environmental stewardship, teamwork and leadership skills. For Redboine Watershed District staff, the annual event remains an important part of supporting environmental education and encouraging the next generation of conservation leaders.
