MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 29, 2011 - A five-member team of high school students from Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, Manitoba, Canada, beat out more than 50 other teams to win the 2011 Canon Envirothon, a week-long North American environmental education competition sponsored by Canon U.S.A., Inc.

The winning team was announced on Thursday, July 28th, during closing ceremonies at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

The 54 teams representing 45 U.S. states, eight Canadian provinces and one Canadian territory tested their knowledge on various environmental issues and resource conservation, while competing for a share of over $125,000 in scholarships and Canon products.

"Canon would like to congratulate not only the winning team, but all the students who participated in this year's competition," said Bunji Yano, senior director and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A. "We are so proud of all of the students' efforts and commitment to helping preserve our environment."

The first-place Swan Valley Regional Secondary School team received a total of $25,000 in Canon scholarships. West Hill Secondary School, Ontario, ($20,000), and Spartanburg High School, South Carolina, ($15,000), placed second and third, respectively.

The fourth-place team, Oromocto High School, New Brunswick, Canada, received $10,000 and the fifth-place team, Housatonic Valley Agriscience, Connecticut, received $7,500. Teams that placed first through tenth received Canon products for their advisors and sponsoring agencies / organizations to use in science education.

Each team is made up of five students who previously won their state or provincial competition and came together to compete in categories including aquatics, ecology, forestry, soil and land use, and wildlife. Each year an additional topic is included that is based upon a current environmental issue. For 2011, the topic was salt and freshwater estuaries.

Since 1997, Canon U.S.A. has been the title sponsor of this annual competition. The Canon Envirothon is the culmination of a series of competitions that began during the past school year and involved more than 500,000 high school students throughout North America.

In written tests and oral presentations, starting at the local level, winning teams from schools and organizations competed for the distinction of representing their state, province or territory at the Canon Envirothon.

The top 10 teams at the 2011Canon Envirothon:

1st Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Manitoba
2nd West Hill Secondary School Ontario
3rd Spartanburg High School South Carolina
4th Oromocto High School New Brunswick
5th Housatonic Valley Agriscience Connecticut
6th West Johnston High School North Carolina
7th Fort Defiance High School Virginia
8th Middleton High School Wisconsin
9th Jupiter High School Florida
10th The Wheeler School Rhode Island