[Pollinator] Teens take over Earth Optimism Instagram for Pollinator Week

[Krupnick, Gary]

The Smithsonian Earth Optimism Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/earthoptimism/?hl=en> will be featuring a takeover this week by a group of teens who are creating pollinator gardens in Arkansas as part of Smithsonian Affiliates’ nationwide teen led community sustainability projects initiative<https://affiliations.si.edu/earth-optimism/>. The teens created one garden at their school campus<https://www.instagram.com/pollinators_asmsa/> in partnership with MidAmerica Science Museum and quickly decided to scale and replicate in other locations. We anticipate more teen groups following their lead in future iterations of this youth leadership program.

The pollinator garden team is comprised of ten 11-12th graders at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, a residential high school in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The students come from all over the state. This project originated in their geoscience class and a relationship that their teacher had with the Director of Education at the MidAmerica Science Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate. The students visited the MidAmerica Museum to study their pollinator garden, and the museum staff met with them monthly to mentor their progress and also connect them to other gardens and professionals in the area (i.e., Garvan Woodland Gardens,  Ouachita National Forest, Hot Springs National Park.) This team in Arkansas was one of nine Smithsonian Affiliates that took part in Earth Optimism Teen Conversations project designed to catalyze student-led action in communities nationwide.

See more at https://www.instagram.com/earthoptimism/.



Gary Krupnick, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

Head of the Plant Conservation Unit

Department of Botany

w 202.633.0940  krupnick at si.edu<mailto:krupnick at si.edu>



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

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