Fairchild Challenge teacher brunch opens new year of learning
Approximately 300 middle and high school teachers from numerous public and private schools attended the Fairchild Challenge Teacher Information Brunch on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Rd.
Teachers received the 2012-13 curriculum and other materials to support the Fairchild Challenge mission, which is to foster interest in the environment by encouraging students to appreciate the beauty and value of nature.
Brunch guests included Carl Lewis, director of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden; Amy Padolf, director of education; Alejandra Navas, Fairchild Palms (the garden’s young professionals organization); and Dr. Larry Feldman, vice chairman of the board of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
“The Fairchild Challenge is very important to the school system,” said Dr. Feldman. “What you (teachers) do for our children is amazing – you connect the dots for students about nature and the environment.”
A new challenge for this school year’s high school students in the performance category is Botanical Band. Students will choose a culture from anywhere in the world and create botanical instruments and perform a piece of music representative of that culture.
The Fairchild Challenge staff for high school students assembled a botanical band of its own, which performed at the brunch.
Also this year, middle school students will be challenged with creating green-cuisine cooking for the first time, specifically a low-impact, after-school snack.
Now celebrating its 11th anniversary, the Fairchild Challenge involves more than 250 schools and 120,000 students and teachers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The program is designed to engage thousands of young people and by extension, their teachers, parents and friends.
For additional information about the Fairchild Challenge click here.
