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Lt. Governor Quinn encourages going green in Illinois schools, kicks off high school eco-symposium



(CHICAGO) - This Friday, February 29, at 10:35 a.m., Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will promote greening in Illinois schools by joining with more than 100 area high school students at The Field Museum, West Lobby, Montgomery Ward Lecture Hall to kick off the eco-symposium "Innovate, Cultivate and Preserve."

The event is one facet of the Fairchild Challenge, a yearlong multidisciplinary environmental contest coordinated by the Chicago Botanic Garden. The Field Museum is co-hosting the daylong, educational eco-symposium dedicated to introducing students to the importance of cultivated plants and their value in the effort to go green.

"I salute all the students and teachers taking part in the Fairchild Challenge for realizing the importance of making our state more sustainable," Quinn said.  "And I encourage participants to use the environmentally friendly practices learned throughout the competition and help their schools go green."

"Innovate, Cultivate and Preserve" will offer lectures and workshops that will allow students to explore the realms of agriculture, horticulture and plant products engineering.  Students will also tour the George Washington Carver exhibition where graduate students from Carver's alma mater, Tuskegee University, will demonstrate how his innovations and research are still being used today.

"Students can make a difference in their schools by initiating a recycling program or even planting a rain garden," Quinn said.  "We can all learn from one another and work together to make the Land of Lincoln green."

More than 1,500 high school students from six counties are participating in the second annual Fairchild Challenge.  The program seeks to spark interest in the environment among students by encouraging them to appreciate the beauty and value of nature, develop critical-thinking skills, understand the need for biodiversity and conservation, tap community resources, become actively engaged citizens and recognize that individuals do indeed make a difference.

Quinn will be joined by Elizabeth Babcock, director of education and library collections for The Field Museum and Tree Sturman, coordinator of education outreach & the Fairchild Challenge for the Chicago Botanic Garden.

For more information on going green, please visit www.standingupforillinois.org