education – The FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE

Join the Fairchild Challenge!

Do you know a high school student who is passionate about the environment, who likes art, the written or spoken word, poetry, photography or design? Then the Chicago Botanic Garden's Fairchild Challenge is for them.

The Fairchild Challenge is a free, interdisciplinary environmental competition open to all Chicago-area high school students. The Challenge gives students the opportunity to take action on behalf of the environment and compete against their peers in subject areas that include green design, photojournalism, environmental service, civic engagement and more.

The Fairchild Challenge fosters interest in the environment by encouraging students to appreciate the beauty and value of nature; develop critical thinking skills; understand the need for biodiversity and conservation; tap community resources; become actively engaged citizens; and recognize that individuals do indeed make a difference.

The 2007-2008 Challenge is now complete.
Check back in August 2008 for information on the 2008-2009 program.

Create an eco-picturebook

Perform in a poetry slam

Photograph your worldview

Students compete in Ten categories:

T-Shirt Design: B4 it's 2 L8, a T-shirt design competition that raises awareness of Illinois endangered or threatened plant species and best solutions for protection.
Environmental Action: It starts with you, in which students plan and implement a high school event that focuses attention on environmental issues.
Recycled Artwork: Second time around, an opportunity to create a three-dimensional sculpture representing the theme of humans and nature, using recycled materials.
Marketing Campaign: Growing plants for a growing society, a competition to design a thematic marketing campaign illustrating the economic, environmental and/or cultural impacts — both negative and positive — of plant cultivation.
Poetry Slam: Eco-slam it for a healthy planet!, a poetry slam competition that asks students to creatively explore their thoughts and feelings about an environmental issue that is a personal priority.
Picture Book Design: Leave no child inside!, in which students write and illustrate a picture book that explores children's interactions with nature and the outdoors.
Civic Engagement: iVOTE! ’08, where students will participate in iVOTE! '08, a project developed by Northwestern University's online Collaboratory that encourages students to engage in the democratic process.
Green Architecture: Turning your classroom inside out, a competition to develop a design for a renovation of an existing classroom space into an environmentally friendly "indoor/outdoor" classroom.
Photojournalism: My habitat as is, a photo essay competition that highlights the best and worst aspects of one's local environment.
Environmental Service Learning: Be the Change!, through which students volunteer at an environmental site and create an electronic blog or hardcopy journal documenting their experiences.

Participation in the Fairchild Challenge is FREE and open to ALL high schools in Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Kenosha (WI), Lake (IL and IN), McHenry and Will counties. If you are outside these counties you may still participate. Contact Tree Sturman for details.

Questions? Contact Tree Sturman at (847) 835-8343 or email .

The Fairchild Challenge program was designed and initiated by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables-Miami, Florida,
which continues to support expansion sites in the United States and internationally. The Fairchild Challenge is made possible through the generous support of the following organizations and contributors:

American Honda Foundation
The Brinson Foundation
Circle of Service Foundation
The Freedom Forum
HSBC-North America
National City