by Kristen Goodhue
Students at Gwynn Park Middle School plant orchid seedlings as part of the Classroom Cultivation project. (Credit: Gwynn Park Middle School)
What does it take to grow an endangered orchid and bring it back to the wild? This past school year, the Smithsonian decided to ask hundreds of middle and high school students. It’s part of a participatory science project called “Classroom Cultivation,” run by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Smithsonian Gardens. Its goal: Turn students into scientists and classrooms into botany labs.
Orchids are some of the trickiest plants to grow—either in a lab or in the wild. This is largely because they are so frustratingly picky about their habitats. And every species has a different wish list.
“Orchids can be a bit of a drama queen, a diva,” said Shatiyana Dunn, who runs Classroom Cultivation for SERC. “They have very specific elements that they like to grow in.”