Fairchild Challenge at Phipps: Challenge #5

By Emily Nye, High School Program Coordinator

Challenge #5: “Environmental Action: Home, School or Community”

It’s here! Not summer, but the last challenge in the 2016 – 2017 Fairchild Challenge! This year Phipps has received so many creative and thoughtful entries showing us your commitment to the environment, and we cannot wait to see what initiatives you’ve implemented for the last challenge. The final challenge of the year is “Environmental Action: Home, School or Community.”

For this last challenge, we've tasked you and your classmates to gather as many students as possible to promote environmental awareness and conservation within ONE of the three following target areas: home, school or community.

If you have not started this challenge yet, think about an audience that you want to engage in environmental awareness activities and then start brainstorming! You could host an educational Earth Day event at your school or write letters about your environmental concerns to local politicians. The possibilities are endless! For more project ideas, check out our website.

Projects will be evaluated on how engaged the students were in developing and implementing their initiative, how positive and long-lasting the impact of the initiative, and how the results are presented. We see aspiring changemakers in all of you and now is a great time to inspire your fellow classmates, family and community members to take positive actions for the environment. As one student from Bishop Carroll Catholic High School expressed last year, “We can make a difference by starting from small, simple ideas that can grow to big changes. Join the action and make big changes!” 

Please include the following with your entry (maximum one entry per school):

• A challenge entry form,
• A tri-fold display OR written report (5 page maximum, double-sided) documenting your school’s efforts to promote environmental awareness and conservation, and
• A list of students involved in the project

Middle and high school challenge entries are due at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens by Fri., April 28.

You can find everything you need for Challenge #5, including specific requirements, posters, standards and rubrics, on our website. Good luck!

Have questions? Contact Emily Nye at enye@phipps.conservatory.org or 412/622-6915, ext. 3905.

Developed by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Fl., and adopted by Phipps as a satellite partner in 2008, The Fairchild Challenge offers a menu of interdisciplinary challenges for grades 6 – 8 and 9 – 12, attracting students of diverse interests, abilities, talents and backgrounds. The Challenge empowers young people to engage in civic life and encourages them to become energetic and knowledgeable members of their communities.