education – The FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE

Join the Fairchild Challenge!

Information for Students

Become part of the Fairchild Challenge and join thousands of high school students from throughout the Chicagoland area working to make a difference for our environment.

Picture book design

Recycled artwork

Photojournalism

Eleven ways to Make a Difference — and win cool Prizes

Photojournalism: Make No Small Plans — Research and then create a photo essay exploring how the Plan of Chicago has affected your community AND envisioning a new Plan of Chicago for the year 2040.
T-Shirt Design: Plants for Life — Create a design for the 2008–09 Fairchild Challenge T-Shirt to raise awareness about the importance of plants to human society. Designs must incorporate both the Fairchild Challenge and Chicago Botanic Garden logos.
Eco-Poetry Slam — Write and perform an original poem for the 2009 Fairchild Challenge Eco-Poetry Slam. Your poem should creatively explore your feelings and thoughts and/or raise awareness of an environmental issue affecting you and or your community.
Music Composition: Harmonic Convergence — Compose and perform an original song raising awareness about an environmental issue(s) that affects you and your community. Your song should inspire and influence others to care about your chosen issue(s) and take action to make a difference.
Bioethics: A Matter of Opinion? In 900 to 1,000 words, present a persuasive, well-conceived essay addressing one of two ethical considerations.
Commercial Design: Reinventing Your Trash — Using only waste items from your household or school, design and manufacture a functioning prototype of a consumer product (other than clothing) that might replace an item commonly used in your home or school.
Watercolor Design: H2Oh So Important — Using watercolor paint and/or pencils, create a two-dimensional art piece to raise awareness of the beauty and ecological and/or social importance of fresh water in the midwestern United States.
Environmental Action: Eco-Investigators — Investigate the environmental health and sustainability of your school and school grounds. Develop and present an eco-report to your school’s leadership highlighting the results of your investigation and providing recommendations for improvement.
Picture Book Design: The Nature of Your Community — Write and illustrate an eight-page (plus cover) picture book with an environmental or environmental justice message. The setting and content of your story must reflect and be informed by the natural and social environment within ten miles of your home or school.
Land Use Planning: GO TO 2040 — Imagine a section of your town or neighborhood in the year 2040. Using the principals of LEED for Neighborhood Development (ND), transform that section from what it is today into a more livable and environmentally sustainable community.
Cartoons for Climate Change, Create an 8- by 10-inch cartoon in black and white or color to illustrate one of the case studies contained in Plants and Climate Change: Which Future? (Visit www.bgci.org/education/fairchildclimatechange.)

Why you should participate

Win prizes and recognition for you and your school
Meet new people who share your passions and interests
Build your college applications and resumes
Have fun learning about the environment
Connect to a group of talented judges who may become your future employers
Because individuals like yourself can and do make a difference!

Read feedback from past participants

See what the experience is like

View Poetry Slam video

Fairchild Challenge video

Challenge Your Imagination to Change Your Environment!

Ask Your Favorite Teacher to Sign Up for the Fairchild Challenge Today

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