A hands-on environmental competition brought together high school students from across the province for the eastern regional of the Manitoba Envirothon, held Thursday, April 23 at Tourond Creek Discovery Centre.
The Envirothon program has been running in Manitoba for nearly 30 years, with 2026 marking the fourth year overseen by MAW after transitioning from its previous host organization, Manitoba Forestry Association.
“We’re very lucky that they opted to provide us with this opportunity,” says Lynda Nicol, executive director of MAW.
Lynda Nicol, executive director of Manitoba Association of Watersheds, and Joey Pankiw, manager of Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District.
Hands-on competition tests environmental knowledge
Teams of five work together throughout a series of twelve outdoor stations, each based on a different environmental topic from wildlife, ecology, aquatics, forestry, land management and soil science.
“Teams will go to each stop and must answer a question within 10 minutes,” says Joey Pankiw, manager of Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District, adding roughly 35 volunteers act as stop attendants to help the event run smoothly.
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Questions range from animal identification using pelts to measuring the height of a tree.
Once teams complete the stations, students must create a poster and present an oral report to a panel of judges, based on a scenario-based question.
This year, the question is about managing a 400-acre property, where they must outline how they would balance land-use decisions such as agriculture, recreation and environmental conservation.
In addition to field testing, Envirothon includes an annual theme.
Agriculture and land use take focus in 2026
For 2026, the focus is on agriculture and land management — a topic that reflects the province’s strong ties to the agricultural sector.
“We rotate themes each year. We thought this made a lot of sense as Manitoba is such an agricultural province,” says Nicol.
“The great thing about Envirothon is that it’s fast-paced, high-energy and fun, but also competitive. These are students who have trained and educated themselves for the last couple of months to prepare for this.”
Top teams advance to provincial competition in Whiteshell
This year, the eastern regionals took place at Tourond Creek Discovery Centre on Thursday, April 23.
The eastern regional is one of five competitions held across Manitoba, with the top teams advancing to the provincial competition, taking place at the Tim Hortons Foundation Camp in Whiteshell Provincial Park in May.
Provincial qualifiers will be announced at a later date.
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“I think a lot of these kids are environmentally conscious and want to see how they can work that into their lives and even their careers. Envirothon gives them hands-on learning experience,” Pankiw says.
The Manitoba Envirothon not only builds practical skills but also encourages students to take an active role in protecting Manitoba’s natural environment.