FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Whitney Forman-Cook
Whitney-Forman-Cook[at]nacdnet.org
(202) 595-9139

30th ANNUAL NCF-ENVIROTHON KICKS OFF IN MARYLAND

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2017 – More than 250 high school students will compete at the international NCF-Envirothon this week in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for top honors and $30,000 in cash prizes.

“Envirothon has given 50,000 students each year for the last three decades hands-on experience solving timely natural resources challenges,” said Steve Robinson, chair of the board of trustees for the National Conservation Foundation (NCF), the nonprofit organization responsible for Envirothon. “NCF’s mission is to provide conservation districts and other conservation organizations resources to conduct conservation research and outreach, as well as administer educational programs. For this reason, NCF is a primary partner to the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) – one of the leading sponsors of the NCF-Envirothon.”

This year, 54 high school student teams from 45 states, seven Canadian provinces, and two Chinese provinces will give oral presentations and compete in five areas of environmental studies: soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship. Over 100 teachers will travel to Emmitsburg with these student teams and a total of 200 volunteers and resource experts will support the 2017 NCF-Envirothon competition.

“The program offers a unique combination of both in-class and field-based curriculum that has made the Envirothon a huge success with students and educators across North America, and now, globally,” said Barry Burch, co-chair of the NCF-Envirothon Maryland Host Committee. “Hosting the event in Maryland affords us the opportunity to highlight our state’s rich agricultural heritage and the work that’s being done here to restore and preserve the Chesapeake Bay.”

The 2017 NCF-Envirothon is sponsored by Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer and processor. Smithfield Foods generously started sponsoring NCF-Envirothon’s cash prizes in 2015. The 2017 NCF-Envirothon is also sponsored by NACD, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and other organizations recognized here on the official Envirothon website.

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About the National Association of Conservation Districts:

The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.

About Smithfield Foods:

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world’s largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including SmithfieldⓇ, EckrichⓇ, Nathan’s FamousⓇ, FarmlandⓇ, ArmourⓇ, John MorrellⓇ, Cook’sⓇ, KretschmarⓇ, GwaltneyⓇ, Curly’sⓇ, MargheritaⓇ, CarandoⓇ, Healthy OnesⓇ, KrakusⓇ, MorlinyⓇ and BerlinkiⓇ. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.