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Fairchild Challenge at Phipps: Challenge #6 Winners Announced!
Thank you to the many schools that submitted entries for Challenge #6! These challenges were titled “Choose Your Own Eco-Action Adventure” for elementary school, middle school and high school students. People around the globe are making efforts to help the environment in many ways, from smaller projects like picking up litter to bigger projects like planting monarch waystation pathways! Students were challenged to choose an environmental action project that they are passionate about to help their school or community. The most successful projects start with a plan of action to help groups organize their needs, tasks and goals. Therefore, students created guides for planning their environmental projects, including idea, goals, checklists of resources, timelines, relevant sketches or photos, and information on how to engage other people. We so were inspired by your incredibly brilliant, creative, and thoughtful projects!
Elementary School
Turtle Creek Elementary STEAM Academy
Middle School
First Place: North Hills Middle School; Niamh Greer, Ellie Kim, Adelaide Seigworth, Autumn Mandell, Keelin McKiernan
Second Place: Penn Middle School; Annabelle Aquino, Ava Simpson, Logan Matrisch, Jake Lang, Ethan Goldsworthy
Third Place: Archangel Gabriel; sixth, seventh, and eighth graders
Special Merit: Trafford Middle School; Addie McLaughlin, Alex Heintz, Faiz Khatri, Timothy Wolford, Chloe Bishop
Special Merit: Freeport Middle School; Emma Charlton, Paige Lithgow, Makenna Dorian, Tessa Ladouceur, Mackenzie Miller, Ava Pietrolaj
Special Merit: Carson Middle School; Xavier Champagne, Stuti Saxena
High School
First Place: Shaler Area HS; Ivy Wegner, Madelynn Tomko, Meghen O’ Neill, Delaney Zagger
Second Place: Central Catholic HS; John Dickinson and Sterling Rieder
Third Place: Penn-Trafford HS; Tali Brobst, Kate Malley, Delena Steimer, Mark Harris, Kristina Heins
Special Merit: West Mifflin HS; Hayden Craycraft
We would like to give a special shout out to our incredible panelists: Phipps staff Dr. Maria Wheeler-Dubas, Chris Salitrik and Kelliann Walsh, and Phipps volunteers Joanne Schreiber, Michelle Panasiuk and Geraldine Fox. Special thanks to Phipps staff Emily Chierici for organizing and running this judging panel! Thank you all for lending us your time and expertise!
Have questions? Contact Jennifer Torrance at jtorrance@phipps.conservatory.org or 412/622-6915, ext. 3230.
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 K-5, 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.
Photographs taken by Phipps’ Research and Science Education staff.
