Fairchild Challenge: Plants and Pollinators

By Melissa Harding, Phipps Science Education Specialist

Pollination is a magical process. A plant, through seemingly no will of its own and often with the help of a whole host of unwitting accomplices, is able to orchestrate the ritual by which its pollen is mixed and spread around to make reproduction possible. Not only is this complex plan catalyzed by an organism without an actual brain, but it has been doing so for millions of years. All things considered, the fact that pollination works so well is kind of a miracle. While much of the credit should go to plants, they really couldn’t do it without their pollination pals: bees, butterflies, bats, birds and a number of less famous plant friends like flies and wasps. The most recent challenge for middle and high school students in the Fairchild Challenge at Phipps honors those pairings of critters and plants and the   pivotal roles that they play in the ecosystem. Participating students were tasked with creating drawings that depict one such relationship and to explain the value that it provides in a short caption.

Not only was this challenge offered at Phipps, but it is a global challenge as well. The Global Competition is being offered by The Fairchild Challenge, in partnership with all of the Fairchild Challenge Partners. For the first time, ten international and national institutions will be invited to participate in the same challenge. Top 10 drawings from each individual institution, Phipps Conservatory being one, will share their entries and compete in this global challenge. Online voting will be open from Wednesday, April 1 through Thursday, April 30 and winning entries of the Global Challenge will be published in Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s magazine!

In addition, a selection of drawings will be matted, framed and displayed at the Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes gallery from May through summer 2015.

In the middle school category, the winning entries are:

1st Place: Tie: Shaler Area Middle School and Shaler Area Middle School
2nd Place: Shaffer Elementary 6th Grade
3rd Place: Carson Middle School

Special Merit Awards:
Carson Middle School for flowers
The Ellis School for originality
David E. Williams Middle School

In the high school category, the winning entries are: 

1st Place: Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy
2nd Place: Hampton High School
3rd Place: Woodland Hills High School

Special Merit Awards:
Hampton High School for an amazing bee
Gateway High School for creativity and skill
Shaler Area High School for exquisite detail
Shaler Area High School for pen and ink artistry
Shaler Area High School for composition

To see some of the winning entries in both the middle and high school challenges, check out the photos below:

 
The first place winners of all middle school challenges will be invited to appear on the Saturday Light Brigade radio program. The Saturday Light Brigade can be heard every Saturday morning on WRCT 88.3 FM. It also streams live at slbradio.org where the interview will be archived under Neighborhood Voices. Join area middle school students on Saturday, February 21 at 10:35 a.m. 

The above photos were taken by Science Education and Research staff.