Growing tomorrow’s environmental stewards at Wilson Lake

Beginning in 1999, the 2026 ECO-meet competition at Wilson Lake marked its 26th year. Organized through the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, the event brings students together from eight counties around the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property, to test their knowledge of Kansas ecology while building an appreciation for the state's natural ecosystems and resources.

“The idea behind making this program available on a statewide basis stemmed from the schools around the Milford Lake area wanting to have other schools to compete against as they had been doing it for several years prior to 1999,” said Mike Rader, wildlife education specialist for KDWP, who help found coordinate the event.

For many of the students who reside in the rural regions of the sunflower state, their education about the natural world begins on the farm. But that connection is deepened through programs like ECO-meet, where learning to recognize the plants, animals and habitats found throughout Kansas, is taken to another level.

“It’s easier to care about something when you understand it and feel connected to it,” said Amber McLaughlin, KDWP’s engagement coordinator.

Education in the field instead of lectures

The ECO-Meet competition takes Kansas high school and middle school students and challenges them on their knowledge through four events: animal identification and classification, habitat-based testing, interpretive skits and a native-plant scavenger hunt.

So, leading up to the competition students spend time studying animal groups such as invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds — along with the habitats that support the wildlife of the region, ranging from tallgrass prairies to woodlands, mixed grass prairies and wetlands.

On the vast grounds and diverse habitats within Wilson Lake, students are tasked with identifying plant species native to Kansas and the region such as big and little bluestem, Indiangrass, grama grasses, cottonwood, honey locust and aromatic sumac. Preparation begins well before competition day, with students studying species lists, reviewing materials and practicing their identification skills.

Joe Holdren, a biology teacher and assistant principal at St. John’s Catholic School in Beloit, Kansas, has brought students to the competition since 2010. He said the competitive atmosphere encourages students to devote time to learning about the natural world around them.

“The competitive nature really pushes the kids to get into the studying,” Holdren said.

The benefits that ECO-meet provides, he added, extend beyond the classroom. Many of his students often share what they learn and apply it to real life scenarios by pointing out plants that could be harmful if handled improperly and explaining ecological concepts.

“They get to observe the beauty,” Holdren said. “But more than that, then they can take that on, and they can just teach those around them.”

A partnership built over time

Behind the curtain, the competition deploys a network of organizations and volunteers who work together to make the event possible — with KDWP staff leading the charge by coordinating the program, developing study materials and tests and organizing the competition all over Kansas in the fall, according to Rader.

“In addition to the Wilson Lake competition held on Oct. 7, we hold regional events at Milford Lake, Hays in northwest Kansas, Garden City, Wichita, Greenbush in southeast Kansas and Olathe in the Kansas City Metropolitan area,” Rader said. “The state finals competition with be held at the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, Kansas on Nov. 5.”

While the competing schools prepare their students, local businesses, conservation districts and other organizations contribute funding for supplies such as the t-shirts provided to all competitors and event staff. But other, more important financial benefits can be obtained by the regional and state final winners as well

“Scholarships are given at the Milford and Wilson Lake, as well as and all many of the other events … Pheasants Forever Chapters, local conservation districts and statewide organizations such as the Kansas Wildscape Foundation, the Kansas Ornithological Society, the Kansas Herpetological Society and the Kansas Native Plant Society are regular contributors,” Rader said. The scholarships are earmarked for students that enroll in anything post-secondary such as college and trade schools.”

Other businesses and individuals also contribute to the scholarships including utility companies, banks and many others.

USACE also plays an important role by providing facilities at Wilson Lake and other federal properties in the state and providing staff to assist with the event.

This seasoned partnership between federal institutions, and the state has been vital to connecting students with the conservation professionals who manage its many natural resources.

“USACE has been great over the years in assisting with the event and making their buildings available for everyone involved,” he said.

The collaboration, Holdren added, also gives students an opportunity that would be difficult for individual schools to provide on their own.

“There’s no other entities, really that are in place that have the capacity to put on this type of event for high school students,” he said.

For Rader, the event also signifies years of commitment from the schools, organizers and supporters across the state.

“The program grew from a desire among schools near Milford Lake to compete against other schools. It expanded environmental education opportunities for older students, a group that had fewer programs specifically designed for them,” he said.

Cultivating future environmental stewards

ECO-Meet has helped spark an interest in careers related to biology, wildlife management and conservation for some of its participants over the years. Holdren immediately pointed to one of his former St. John’s students, as a prime example of what the exposure to the annual competition, did for his future.

“John Gengler participated in the competition for several years before studying tourism and outdoor-related subjects at Kansas State University. That eventually led him to USACE,” he said.

When thinking about ECO-meets influence on school districts and students over the decades, his sentiments where similar

“Former participants from across Kansas have also gone on to work for KDWP, USACE, the Kansas Forest Service and other outdoor-related organizations,” he said.

Although not every student will pursue a career in conservation, the knowledge students gain can influence how they understand and value the natural world throughout their lives. Which seemed more important to Rader than anything else.

“It is important to provide the opportunity for the youth of our state to become more familiar with the plants and animals that are surrounding us,” he said.

For McLaughlin, who joined KDWP in 2014 and began her current engagement coordinator role in 2025, ECO-meet was an opportunity she wishes she had as a young person. Despite that, she still recognizes its importance not only statewide, but as a regional model for connecting today’s youth with conservation.

“It makes me appreciate working for an organization that provides these experiences for students. Although I didn’t study biology, I knew I wanted to contribute to conservation,” she said. “My path has shown me that people with all kinds of educational backgrounds, skills and talents can make a difference in protecting Kansas’ natural resources.”

But to Rader, that lasting influence is central to the program’s purpose and that’s what is most important.

“The next generation of decision makers are here, and we want to give them a reason to deem the natural resources we have as important to carry on into the future,” he said.

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