Challenge 2 | Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Welcome to the high school challenge page for Challenge 2 of the Fairchild Challenge! Read below to find challenge information, entry requirements, resources and more for the challenge.

Challenge 2: Fine Arts and Writing

Title: Playlist for Peace
For individuals or groups | Maximum points: 200

Due Date: Fri., Dec. 5, 2025 by 5 p.m.

Download challenge rubric here

Your Challenge:

Across the world, music is one of the most powerful ways we connect with each other. Throughout history, music has been used to bring people together and share ideas, thoughts and emotions, especially about nature and the environment. There are even organizations like “Hip Hop is Green” that are inspiring conversations amongst youth across diverse communities about the intersections of health, wellness and climate change, all through the power of music, in particular, Hip Hop. From Billie Eilish’s climate activism to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” musicians have inspired people to think about pollution, deforestation, climate change and more.

Your challenge is to create an original “record” that shares an environmental message in a creative and meaningful way by designing an original 2D album cover and putting together a 5-song track list. You can focus on any topic you care about, like ocean pollution, global warming, endangered species, environmental justice or even eco-anxiety. Song titles should be relevant in relation to your message and stay on theme. For each song, write a short paragraph explaining how it connects to your environmental theme. To earn bonus points, you can record an original or parody song that expresses your message.

Your 2D artwork should be either 8.5” x 11” or 16” x 20” inches. Select pieces will be displayed in Phipps’ CSL Gallery.

.Entry Requirements:

Deliver to the science education coordinator at Phipps in person or via certified mail (electronic submission is not accepted for this challenge)

Challenge Entry Form
Original artwork that is labeled with student’s name and school name
Schools can submit a maximum of 3 original projects
For BONUS POINTS, original songs must be emailed to Phipps’ High School Programs Coordinator at amule@phipps.conservatory.org, labeled with student's name and school name
Works Cited with at least 3 sources

Address:
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
The Fairchild Challenge c/o Alyssa Mulé
One Schenley Park
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Resources:

The following list of online resources may be used when preparing your entry:

Standards:

Read below to find the standards for each grade level for Challenge 2 of the High School Fairchild Challenge

Grades 9 – 10

CC.1.4.9-10.A Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately.
CC.1.4.9-10.B Write with a sharp distinct focus identifying topic, task, and audience.
CC.1.4.9-10.C Develop and analyze the topic with relevant, well-chosen, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic; include graphics and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CC.1.4.9-10.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
CC.1.4.9-10.M Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.
CC.1.4.9-10.T Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
CC.1.4.9-10.U Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
CC.1.4.9-10.V Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CC.1.4.9-10.W Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
3.4.9-12.D Students who demonstrate understanding can apply research and analytical skills to systematically investigate environmental issues ranging from local issues to those that are regional or global in scope.
3.4.9-12.E Students who demonstrate understanding can plan and conduct an investigation utilizing environmental data about a local environmental issue.
3.4.9-12.F Students who demonstrate understanding can evaluate and communicate the effect of integrated pest management practices on indoor and outdoor environments.
3.4.9-12.H Students who demonstrate understanding can design and evaluate solutions in which individuals and societies can promote stewardship in environmental quality and community well-being.
3.4.9-12.I Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and interpret data on a regional environmental condition and its implications on environmental justice and social equity.

Grades 11 – 12

9.1.12.C Integrate and apply advanced vocabulary to the arts forms.
9.1.12.E Delineate a unifying theme through the production of a work of art that reflects skills in media processes and techniques.
9.1.12.F Analyze works of arts influenced by experiences or historical and cultural events through production, performance or exhibition.
9.1.12.I Distinguish among a variety of regional arts events and resources and analyze methods of selection and admission.
9.2.12.K Identify, explain and analyze traditions as they relate to works in the arts (e.g., story telling – plays, oral histories- poetry, work songs- blue grass).
9.4.12.A Evaluate an individual’s philosophical statement on a work in the arts and its relationship to one’s own life based on knowledge and experience.
3.4.9-12.A Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and interpret how issues, trends, technologies, and policies impact agricultural, food, and environmental systems and resources.
3.4.9-12.B Students who demonstrate understanding can apply research and analytical skills to evaluate the conditions and motivations that lead to conflict, cooperation, and change among individuals, groups, and nations.
3.4.9-12.C Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and interpret how issues, trends, technologies, and policies impact watersheds and water resources.
3.4.9-12.D Students who demonstrate understanding can apply research and analytical skills to systematically investigate environmental issues ranging from local issues to those that are regional or global in scope.
3.4.9-12.G Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and evaluate how best resource management practices and environmental laws achieve sustainability of natural resources.
3.4.9-12.H Students who demonstrate understanding can design and evaluate solutions in which individuals and societies can promote stewardship in environmental quality and community well-being.
3.4.9-12.I Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and interpret data on a regional environmental condition and its implications on environmental justice and social equity.

Return to Fairchild Challenge Main Page

Challenge 2: Fine Arts and Writing

Show Your Support

Connect with Us

Sign Up for Tree Free Email