back into the community that supports them. Each
year they educate the public during Education
Weekends held in the Pittsburgh area. They visit
schools, they give lectures and they assemble
Discovery Tables.
 | School talks |
- Grantees gave talks to approximately 200 students, from 7th
grade to AP Biology t area schools including Ellis, The
Neighborhood Academy, Schenley High, Valley, Winchester-
Thurston.
| Slide lectures given to 68 attendees at Botany Hall |
- Arika Virapongse & John Paul presented
| 150 Phipps Conservatory visitors peruse Discovery Tables |
- Made by grantees Danica Harbaugh and Emily Mooney, Arika
Virapongse and John Paul
From Arika Virapongse, Botany In Action grantee January 9, 2006
“I feel like I accomplished a lot while I was in Pittsburgh. It is great to have an
outlet to give back to the community. I especially enjoyed the presentation at
the Neighborhood Academy, and would have been glad to do a few more of
those presentations. Selfishly, I love feeling like I am changing the lives of
people, especially underprivileged young people.”
GRANTEES COME BACK TO EDUCATE
Family audiences require the scientists to learn to speak “in
translation” at all levels!
| School talks given to three area schools | |
| Adult community programs |
- Lectures given at the Manchester-Bidwell Training Center &
Audubon of Western Pennsylvania at Beechwood Farms
| Lectures at Phipps Conservatory - Botany Hall |
- 7 grantees spoke about their research
- Emily Mooney spoke on ginseng
- Bruce Hoffman on medicinal plants in Suriname
| Discovery Table presentations on display | |
enrichment for curriculum.
From Dave Liebmann, teacher at Shady Side Academy, January 24, 2005
“It was great to have the two visitors with us. They met with an advanced
biology class of about 15 students and a freshman biology section of 15
students. The older kids had more questions and were more engaged, but
that is par for the course. The visitors brought lots of hands on material -
always a winner with any age and any subject, and their power point photos
were useful, too. I think it’s always great for students to see working
scientists.”
SOME GOOD NEWS FROM THE FIELD
Saving the Rainforest- 20 years of experience
From Christiane Ehringhaus, Botany In Action grantee, July 10, 2004
“Most graduate students are absorbed by the ivory tower and lose touch with
the general public - therefore, the trips to Pittsburgh with visits to schools,
action tables at the Phipps Conservatory, talks to the garden community, and
dinners we attend are not only great fun, but provide an exceptional
opportunity to develop our skills to speak to non-academic audience in
informative and grounded ways.
BOTANISTS BRING RESEARCH HOME
Grantee Sarah Khan helps Phipps Conservatory plan exhibit of
Aryuvedic healing plants
| School talks given to four area schools | |
| Discovery tables on display | |
| Lectures at Phipps Conservatory - Botany Hall |
- Nat Bletter- studies medicinal plants of Peru and Mali
- Rachel Collins- oak forests of Pennsylvania and the effects of deer
overpopulation - Adam Edwards- medicinal uses of caffeine found in holly (ilex)
- Sarah Khan - healing plants of India and China used to treat diabetes
- John Paul - the causes of rarity in the plant family, Psychotria
- Lauren Raz - studies the wild yam family, Dioscoreaceae, the basis of
the contraceptive "pill"
EDUCATION WEEKEND AT PHIPPS
Good news from the Field
