Shaler Area High School students spent the entire 2021-22 school year competing in the Fairchild Challenge at Phipps and were recognized for their efforts with the top award.The Shaler Area High School placed 1st overall in the high school category in the yearlong environmental challenge that consisted of six different challenges. Students receive scores for each challenge and the scores are totaled for the overall winners.
Shaler Area students won 1st place for Challenge #1 for which they created iridescent creature sculptures from recycled, repurposed, and found materials and wrote short essays about iridescence in nature. The sculptures from this challenge were exhibited during Phipps. Winter Flower. The Shaler Area team for Challenge #1 included Jacob Cable, Luke Jones, Lindsey Caplan, Hailey Richards, Caty Clark, Rachel Scierka, Sammi Walker, Rebecca Schiavone, Anna Sheets, Riley Petrovich, Lauren Rudolph, Natalie Ondo, Alexandra Rall, and Sophia Duty.
For Challenge #2, “Plant Love Stories,” students were challenged to tell a story about a plant that had meaning to them or had impacted their lives in some way. These stories were shared in the form of prose or poetry and accompanied by an original photograph or piece of artwork depicting the plant. The Shaler Area team of Caty Clark, Rebecca Schiavone, Abby Guiste won 2nd place for their submission.
For Challenge #3, “Sustainable Savvy,” students researched climate change and/or conservation solutions that young people can do to make a difference and make a series of short videos explaining at least three of their favorite sustainable actions.
For Challenge #4, “Making Green Work,” students were challenged to pick a community or region outside of mainland United States and research how it is affected by a conservation or climate change issue and then delve into careers that mitigate the effects of climate change seen in those areas.
Shaler Area High School students took 1st and 2nd place in Challenge #5, “Heirlooms for Whom?” Students were tasked with picking an heirloom food and creating artwork of it resembling a vintage seek packet in style. The catch is that students had to draw the heirloom food as an antique or old object and then write about their artwork. Sophia Duty earned 1st place for her tomato artwork and writing, and the team of Anna Lenartova, Abby Guiste, Caty Clark, and Maggie Rea placed 2nd for their bean artwork and writing.
Shaler Area also placed 1st in the 6th and final challenge, “Choose Your Own Eco-Action Adventure.” This challenge asked students to plan a "dream" environmental project for the school. Shaler Area students proposed a sensory garden, which as implemented this at the end of May 2022 through a grant funded by the Shaler Area Education Foundation in the raised beds by the high school greenhouse. The Shaler Area team consisted of Delaney Zagger, Meghan O'Neill, Ivy Wegner, and Madelyn Tomko.