Envirothon is an outdoor competition designed to encourage student interest in natural resource conservation and environmental management. It is a field-oriented program in which students, working in teams of five, learn to use critical thinking and communications skills, work as a team, and develop their problem-solving abilities to answer written and oral questions and conduct hands-on investigations in five study areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue. The IRL competition adds one additional subject area: ecology of the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the continental United States.