LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From August 1 through August 6, more than 270 teenagers from 45 U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces will meet at California State University, Fresno, to participate as finalists in one of North America’s largest high school environmental education competitions, the 2010 Canon Envirothon.

During the six-day competition, teams will be challenged on their knowledge of a variety of environmental issues including soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and a specially selected current environmental issue. For this year’s competition, the topic is Protection of Groundwater Through Urban, Agricultural and Environmental Planning. Students will analyze the long-term and short-term impact of natural environmental occurrences, social and economic factors and human activities on ecosystems relative to how each may influence or directly impact natural resources and their management.

In addition to learning in-depth about environmental issues affecting our natural resources, teams will be competing for a share of more than $125,000 in educational scholarships as well as an array of Canon products. The competition is organized by the National Association of Conservation Districts, the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A) Forest Service and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service in the U.S. and in Canada by the Provincial Forestry Associations.

“The decisions we make today regarding the conservation and preservation of our environment and natural resources will shape the future of our delicate planet,” said Bunji Yano, senior director and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A. “Canon believes environmental education among our future leaders is the key to a developing a sustainable and successful planet for years to come. The students at the Canon Envirothon will have a direct hand in solving the complex environmental issues related to conserving and preserving the planet’s limited resources for future generations.”

Sponsors since 1997, the Canon Envirothon is one of North America’s largest high school environmental education competitions, in which more than 500,000 teenagers are involved during a year-long learning process that combines in-class curricula with hands-on field experiences. Five-member teams from schools and organizations throughout out the United States and Canadian provinces first compete in local competitions, organized by environmental agencies, for the honor to represent their respective state or province in the national competition. During the final competition, teams compete in a series of field-oriented tests under the supervision of foresters, soil scientists and wildlife specialists and also prepare and deliver oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluate each team on their problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge presented during the competition.

In addition to the Canon Envirothon, Canon U.S.A. supports a wide range of environmental education and youth programs including the PBS Nature series, various programs at Yellowstone National Park, and many additional local programs. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com/environment.

A list of the U.S. and Canadian schools/organizations participating in the 2010 Canon Envirothon appears below.

Canon Envirothon Media Center: www.envirothon.org -- Click on the media center for information about the competition, daily updates and photos of the winning teams. Photos of winning teams can be downloaded beginning Saturday, August 7, 2010.