If you’re passionate about climate change, sustainability, or environmental policy, you know the classroom only gets you so far. High school programs are the most effective way to turn that curiosity into practical, real-world skills.
As a participant, you get to analyze actual environmental data, study pollution patterns, and see firsthand how conservation efforts are designed. You’ll learn how to make evidence-based decisions and understand the complex factors that go into solving environmental problems.
Why should you attend a program in Ohio?
Ohio is a strong place to explore environmental science because it reflects a range of real-world challenges, from industrial impact to freshwater management and urban sustainability. This makes it easier to study problems that are actively being addressed.
The state also has universities and institutions that offer structured programs with both academic and practical components. Choosing a program in Ohio can also be more manageable financially, since you can avoid extra travel and housing costs while still gaining meaningful experience that strengthens your academic profile.
To help you explore your options, here are 15 environmental science programs for high school students in Ohio! If you’re also looking for broader options beyond the state, check out our guide to environmental science summer programs for high school students here!
15 Environmental Science Programs for High School Students in Ohio
1. Ohio River Conservation Course (ORCC)
Location: Fort Wright, Kentucky
Cost: $200 (scholarships available)
Program Dates: June 22–26
Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: High school students currently in grades 9–12
The Ohio River Conservation Course is an immersive field program that puts you directly in and on the Ohio River and its tributaries, wading through water, collecting live specimens, testing water chemistry, and working alongside conservation professionals. The program covers ecology, environmental engineering, water quality monitoring, and habitat restoration, all through hands-on fieldwork. Over the course of five days, you’ll go electrofishing, kayak through the watershed, remove invasive plant species, and cruise the river on a boat, giving you direct exposure to the kind of work environmental scientists and conservation professionals actually do. The program also includes structured career exploration, so you’ll come away with a clearer picture of the range of pathways in aquatic and environmental science.
2. ODNR Conservation Teen Advisory Council (ConTAC)
Location: Statewide, Ohio
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Year-round commitment
Deadline: June 5
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9–12
ConTAC is a year-long, statewide program run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that gives high school students a direct seat at the table in shaping ODNR’s youth outreach and conservation programs. As a council member, you’ll meet monthly with fellow students and natural resource mentors from divisions including Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks, exploring career paths like wildland firefighting, forest health management, and wildlife biology through hands-on activities at sites across Ohio. Beyond learning from professionals, you’ll also develop and implement your own conservation project, which could range from stream quality monitoring and habitat restoration to school presentations and community cleanups.
3. Camp Canopy
Location: Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum, Carrollton, Ohio
Cost: $550
Program Dates: June 7–12
Deadline: May 29
Eligibility: Incoming high school freshmen through graduating seniors, up to age 19
Camp Canopy is a week-long residential camp that blends traditional summer camp with a serious dive into Ohio’s forestry and wildlife, and it’s run by the Ohio Forestry Association Foundation in partnership with ODNR. During the week, you’ll work through educational sessions that build on each other day by day, covering tree identification, forest management, raptor identification, tree measurement, and how to use a sawmill. You’ll also get hands-on experience with wildland firefighting techniques and urban tree care, including actual tree climbing. Outside of the educational sessions, the week includes kayaking, hiking, rifle and shotgun shooting, and the kind of campfire, talent show, and social programming that makes it feel like a genuine summer camp experience rather than a class.
4. Ohio State University’s The Earth Lab: Careers in Earth, Climate, and Ocean Sciences
Location: Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Cost: $550
Program Dates: June 1–5
Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising 10th–12th graders
The Earth Lab is a one-week intensive course offered through Ohio State’s Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration Program that takes you beyond textbook geology into the actual career landscape of earth and environmental science. Each day of the week focuses on a different in-demand career within earth science, combining hands-on lab activities with guest speakers from each profession and visits to OSU facilities, including the Orton Geological Museum and the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. You’ll analyze samples, collect data using industry-standard techniques, and work through real-world problem-solving challenges that mirror what earth scientists do when addressing clean water access and sustainable resource management. Teaching is done by Ohio State faculty, staff, and graduate students in a small, active learning environment.
5. Ohio State University Marion’s Science Adventurers: Elements of Discovery
Location: Ohio State University, Marion, Science and Engineering Building, Marion, Ohio
Cost: $185
Program Dates: June 22–26
Deadline: May 31 or until spaces are filled
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th-grade students enrolled in any U.S. school
Science Adventurers: Elements of Discovery is a week-long summer camp at Ohio State Marion that gives you hands-on exposure to biology, chemistry, and environmental technology, all within a university science and engineering building. The week covers a broad mix of topics, from DNA decoding and water quality testing using 3D-printed colorimeters to AI’s role in scientific research and a field ecology component in the on-campus Larry R. Yoder Prairie Learning Laboratory. There’s also a field experience built into the week, either a visit to the Orton Geological Museum, a stream exploration study, or time at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, along with a collaborative environmental capstone project at the end of the week that ties together what you’ve explored. The whole program wraps up with you designing and racing cardboard boats in the annual YMCA Cardboard Boat Regatta.
6. Ohio Envirothon
Location: Statewide Area competitions across Ohio
Cost: Varies by team/school registration; check with the local Soil and Water Conservation District
Program Dates: Area competitions in spring; State competition June 4–5
Deadline: Varies by Area competition; check with your local district
Eligibility: High school students competing as a five-person team from the same school
The Ohio Envirothon is a team-based environmental science competition that tests you on five subject areas: soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology, and a current environmental issue, through both written assessments and hands-on field stations. Teams of five compete first at one of five regional Area Envirothons, with the top four teams from each area advancing to the state competition held annually in June. The state champion then goes on to represent Ohio at the national NCF Envirothon, hosted each July in a different state. What makes the Envirothon distinct from typical academic competitions is its emphasis on applied knowledge in the field rather than recall in a classroom. You’ll be outside, working with ecological data, reading landscapes, and making decisions as a team.
7. NASA Glenn High School Engineering Institute
Location: NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Session 1: July 13–17 | Session 2: July 20–24 | Session 3: July 27–31
Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: U.S. citizens entering 11th or 12th grade; minimum 3.2 GPA verified by school counselor; teacher recommendation required
The NASA Glenn High School Engineering Institute is a five-day program hosted at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland that puts rising juniors and seniors directly inside one of the country’s leading aerospace research facilities. Over the course of the week, you’ll work alongside NASA engineers and technical experts to tackle real mission challenges using the same engineering design process that drives actual NASA projects. The three focus areas for this year connect directly to both aerospace and environmental challenges: reducing noise pollution from jet engines, designing smart power systems for future space stations, and developing airless tire prototypes for lunar operations. You’ll move through the full design cycle from problem framing to prototype testing to using authentic NASA mission content. Three identical weeklong sessions run back-to-back in July, and selected students are placed in one session.
8. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program
Location: Local placement within a 45-minute commute of the student’s home, available in all 50 states, including Ohio
Cost: $3,000 stipend
Program Dates: Eight weeks, beginning in June and ending in August; exact dates determined between mentor and student
Deadline: January 25
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors or rising college freshmen; must be at least 16 years old by the internship start date
The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is a paid, eight-week summer internship run by the American Fisheries Society that places high school students with local fisheries professionals for hands-on work in aquatic science and conservation. Your day-to-day work will depend on your mentor’s focus area, but past scholars have conducted fish surveys, monitored aquatic habitats, tested water quality, and assisted with species conservation projects. The program is specifically designed to increase representation of underrepresented groups in the fisheries profession, and selection is competitive.
9. Ohio Supercomputer Center STEM Institute
Location: Ohio Supercomputer Center, Columbus, Ohio
Cost: $600
Program Dates: May 31–June 12
Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Ohio residents currently in their freshman, sophomore, or junior year of high school
The OSC STEM Institute is a two-week residential program that gives you direct access to some of the state’s most powerful scientific computing infrastructure and puts it to work on real research problems. You’ll work in small teams led by OSC staff on projects that span multiple disciplines, and the environmental science thread runs throughout. Past project topics have included studying the spread of infectious disease, analyzing biodiversity data, and modeling complex natural systems. A guided tour of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center is built into the program, where you’ll learn how ice cores and atmospheric data are used to study climate history. The two weeks also cover Unix, Python, cybersecurity, and supercomputing fundamentals, skills that are directly applicable to environmental data analysis and ecological modeling at the professional level.
10. Cleveland Metroparks’ Service-Learning Internships
Location: Various Cleveland Metroparks reservations and nature centers across Northeast Ohio
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Summer
Deadline: Outdoor Experiences positions: April 10 | Natural Resources positions: April 17
Eligibility: High school seniors aged 18 or over for Natural Resources positions; high school students for Outdoor Experiences positions; undergraduate students are also eligible
Cleveland Metroparks runs a structured service-learning internship program that places high school students directly inside its Natural Resources and Outdoor Experiences divisions. The Natural Resources track focuses on land and water management: you’ll work alongside professional staff to assess, restore, and monitor meadows, forests, waterways, and wildlife habitats across the park system. The Outdoor Experiences track is built around conservation education, assisting naturalists, supporting environmental programming at nature centers like the Watershed Stewardship Center and North Chagrin Nature Center, and helping deliver outdoor recreation experiences that connect the public to Northeast Ohio’s ecology. Specific positions range from the CanalWay Center to the Rocky River Nature Center, giving you the chance to work within the ecosystem type that interests you most.
11. Student Conservation Association’s Urban Green Cleveland
Location: Cleveland and Northeast Ohio
Cost: Paid positions for the summer high school conservation crews
Program Dates: June–August
Deadline: Check program website for current cycle deadlines
Eligibility: Ages 14–18
The SCA’s Urban Green program offers a paid six-week summer conservation crew for high schoolers that gives you direct field experience in ecological restoration. Working with local organizations across Northeast Ohio, you’ll plant and maintain young trees, remove invasive species, build and maintain hiking trails, and contribute to habitat restoration projects in Cleveland’s parks and green spaces. The work is physical and outdoor-based, which means you’re building real field skills, the kind that environmental science professionals and conservation managers use day to day. The program also includes career development components: training, mentorship, and connections to green career pathways that go beyond the summer.
12. OSU Marion’s Horizons of Science: From Microbes to Megastructures
Location: Ohio State University, Marion, Science and Engineering Building, Marion, Ohio
Cost: $185
Program Dates: June 22–26
Deadline: May 31 or until spaces are filled
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th-grade students enrolled in any U.S. school
Horizons of Science is a one-week camp at Ohio State Marion that combines biochemistry, engineering, and environmental science into a hands-on week of lab and field experiences. In the environmental science component, you’ll spend time in the Larry R. Yoder Prairie Learning Laboratory exploring ecosystem science. The full-day field trip to Recreation Unlimited includes stream exploration studies where you apply fieldwork methods in a real outdoor setting. The rest of the week balances that with biochemistry challenges, blood-typing simulations, robot building and programming, and the cardboard boat engineering regatta.
13. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s ZooTeen Program
Location: Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cost: $60
Program Dates: May 25–August 15
Deadline: Applications open December 1 and close January 31
Eligibility: Teenagers ages 13–17 as of May 1 of the program year
The ZooTeen program at the Cincinnati Zoo runs as a structured summer commitment where you spend around 100 hours working across visitor engagement and conservation-related tasks. Most of your time goes into interpreting animal habitats for visitors, assisting with zoo-run camps, and recording observations as part of community science work. The role involves explaining animal behavior and conservation topics in a way that visitors can follow, which becomes a regular part of each shift.
As you return for another year, you can move into leadership roles with a reduced hour requirement and more responsibility. At the start of the season, you can apply to a specific track such as animal care, enrichment, handling, or conservation research. The CREW track focuses on research work, where you assist with projects related to endangered species and data collection within the zoo’s conservation unit.
14. Groundwork Ohio River Valley’s Green Team
Location: Various parks, trails, and community spaces across Cincinnati, Ohio
Cost: Paid employment
Program Dates: June–August
Deadline: Check the Groundwork ORV website for the current application cycle
Eligibility: High school students ages 14–18
Groundwork ORV’s Green Team runs as a paid summer program where you work on environmental restoration projects across parks and neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Your time is spent on tasks like removing invasive species, maintaining trails, supporting urban agriculture sites, and helping build green infrastructure in areas affected by long-term environmental neglect. The work is field-based, so you’re out on-site handling tools, clearing land, and tracking changes in the environment. Some tasks involve monitoring conditions such as air quality or assessing habitats before and after restoration work. Teams follow a regular work schedule, with projects spread across different locations throughout the summer.
15. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Teen Eco Summit
Location: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, Ohio
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Kickoff event in November; projects run through spring; celebration event in April
Deadline: October 1; rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students in teams of 4–7, plus one faculty advisor
The Teen Eco Summit runs across the academic year, where you work in a team to design and carry out a conservation project connected to your school or local community. It begins with a large in-person event at the Columbus Zoo, where you hear from conservation professionals and start outlining your project idea. After that, most of the work happens over several months, as your team researches the issue, plans the approach, and coordinates with community partners. Projects vary, but they often involve habitat work, sustainability efforts, or awareness campaigns that require both planning and execution. You also have the option to apply for funding, which means budgeting and proposal writing become part of the process. The program ends with a final event where teams present what they built and how the project developed over time.
One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in environmental science, you can consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! It is a selective virtual research program that allows you to engage in advanced research and come up with a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1,000+ high school students so far, offering 600+ research specializations to choose from. You can find the application link here!
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