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Showcasing native plants through art
The Plant Conservation Alliance marked 25 years of advancing the conservation of native plants and their communities with a national art competition showcasing iconic U.S. native plants, in partnership with the Fairchild Tropical Garden. The Challenge: Create original art depicting an iconic U.S. native plant species. Regional champions competed in a national runoff and the winning artwork was printed on one side of a commemorative coin for PCA.
We are pleased to present the National and Regional Winners of the American Icons art challenge to honor native plants that represent the uniqueness of America’s landscapes and culture! The original pieces of art shown here were selected from among 100 entries submitted by K-12 students, and were automatically entered into a national runoff to select a single artwork to emblazon a commemorative coin celebrating 25 years of the Plant Conservation Alliance.
Many thanks to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden for collaborating with us on the National Fairchild Challenge and CONGRATULATIONS to our American Icons National and Regional Winners!!
Click on each image to read the artist's statement.
NATIONAL WINNER!
"Helianthus" by Zulema (High School)
REGIONAL WINNERS!
NORTHWEST
1st Place (Left): "Yellow Hibiscus" - Alejandro (Middle School)
2nd Place (Middle): "Sequoia" - Sabrina, Sean, Edwin, & Victoria (High School)
3rd Place (Right): "Rocky Mountain Columbine" - Miguel (Middle School)
NORTHEAST
1st Place (Left): "Alaska Fireweed" - David & Johnson (Middle School)
2nd Place (Middle): "Alaska Fireweed" - David & Johnson (Middle School)
3rd Place (Right): "White Oak Tree" - Ridley and Lucas (Middle School)
SOUTHWEST
1st Place (Left): "Saguaro Cactus" by Maria and Pablo (High School)
2nd Place (Middle): "Helianthus" - Zulema (High School)
3rd Place (Right): "The Amazing Cacti" - Ayden (Elementary School)
SOUTHEAST
1st Place (Left): "The Helpful Hand of the Seagrape" - Bella (Middle School)
2nd Place (Middle): "Red Mangrove" - Peter (Elementary School)
3rd Place (Right): "Scarlet Hibiscus" - Hara (Elementary School)
MIDWEST
1st Place (Left): "Swamp Milkweed" - Henry (Elementary School)
2nd Place (Middle): "Cup Plant" - Jonathan (Elementary School).
3rd Place (Right): "Forever Purple Coral Bells" - Yire (High School)
About the Challenge
In collaboration with the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, the Plant Conservation Alliance celebrates 25 years of advancing the conservation of native plants and their communities with this national art competition depicting iconic U.S. native plants across the United States and its Territories. This competition was launched as part of the 2021-2022 Fairchild Challenge, an award-winning, interdisciplinary, environmental science competition designed to engage students of diverse interests, abilities, talents, and backgrounds to explore the natural world. The PCA Federal Committee judged the Regional competition, and the PCA nonfederal Cooperators have been invited to select the national winner.
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