PA Envirothon Names Greg Bonsall New Executive Director

Greg Bonsall has been named the new Executive Director of PA Envirothon who most recently served as District Manager of the Lycoming County Conservation District

Greg is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resource Management (ERM) and minors in Biology and Watersheds & Water Resources. 

After college, he joined the Union County Conservation District as their Environmental Education Coordinator and Agricultural Conservation Technician. 

During his time at the Union County Conservation District, he helped lead the Susquehanna Valley Envirothon and served as a PA Envirothon Board of Directors member. In addition, Greg has volunteered at the state competition every year since 2005.

PA Envirothon is excited to have Greg serve as Executive Director and look forward to watching him promote the program that invites students to “accept the natural challenge!"

He can be reached at gbonsall@envirothonpa.org. 

Envirothon History

The first-ever Envirothon competition was created in Pennsylvania in 1979 by the Fulton, Luzerne and Schuylkill conservation districts and by 1984 the program expanded to a statewide competition and then nationally and internationally.

Now more than 15,000 high school students across the state compete in 67 county Envirothons.

Pennsylvania has won the International Envirothon competition in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2017 and frequently places in the top 10 finishers.

At the state level, the Envirothon is sponsored by Pennsylvania’s sixty-six county conservation districts, the State Conservation Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts. 

The program is managed by a board of directors representing those sponsors. 

Technical expertise is provided by the following partners:  Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game Commission, Fish and Boat Commission, U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Penn State Extension. 

Sponsors and partners of the 2021 Envirothon are Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of Education, PSECU, Shell Oil Company, PPL, EQT Foundation, Weis, Chief Oil & Gas LLC, UGI Utilities, PA Trappers Association, Mid-Atlantic Chapter International Erosion Control Association, and National Conservation Foundation Envirothon. 

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Envirothon website.  Click Here to sign up for email updates.  Questions should be directed to Greg Bonsall by sending email to: gbonsall@envirothonpa.org.

(Reprinted from the most recent Front Page e-Newsletter from the PA Association of Conservation Districts.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

[Posted: September 29, 2021]  PA Environment Digest