Orchid Bus

Every Friday during Alexa Martinez’s sophomore year of high school, she’d hop on a school bus. But this wasn’t your average school bus. This one was a sterile environment designed to save orchid plants. Called the STEMLab, the bus brought a full botany lab to the parking lot of BioTECH High School in Miami, Florida.

Two years later, Alexa, now 17, is still involved in STEMLab and saving orchids. All of her hard work is for the Million Orchid Project. Started by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida, the project’s goal is to plant 1 million orchids in urban areas across South Florida. 

Hopefully this project will save Florida’s six endangered species of orchids from extinction. Since the project started in 2013, more than 83,000 orchids have been planted.

Fairchild’s botanists created the scientific school bus so students across South Florida could participate in the Million Orchid Project. BioTech High is one of 100 schools in the Miami-Dade school district that have partnered with Fairchild to give students the opportunity to work in the STEMLab.

When Alexa Martinez was a sophomore in high school, she hopped on a school bus every Friday. But this wasn't your average school bus. This one was an extremely clean environment. It was designed to save orchid plants. The bus was called the STEMLab. It brought a full botany lab to the parking lot of BioTECH High School in Miami, Florida.

Two years later, Alexa is still involved in STEMLab and saving orchids. All of the 17-year-old’s hard work is for the Million Orchid Project. The project was started by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. Their goal is to plant 1 million orchids in urban areas across South Florida.

Florida has six endangered species of orchid. Hopefully, this project will save them form extinction. More than 83,000 orchids have been planted since the project began in 2013.

Fairchild's botanists created the scientific school bus to have students help with the project. The bus visits high schools across South Florida. BioTECH High is one of 100 schools in the Miami-Dade school district that the STEMLab visits regularly. 

The Florida Everglades used to be home to millions of orchids. This swampy wetland once covered the southern two-thirds of Florida. Many of Florida’s orchid species grow only on trees, and the Everglade’s forests of oak and mahogany trees provided a perfect habitat for the flowers.

But in the late 1800s, people began stealing the blossoms to sell as houseplants. Some orchid poachers would even set fire to the forests to keep the plants rare and the prices high. “Orchids are one of the most exploited groups of organisms on the planet,” says Jason Downing, a botanist at Fairchild.

The arrival of the Florida East Coast Railway in the late 1800s made it even easier to bring millions of plants to northern states. “We lost three or four species and massive numbers of orchids between the early 1900s and the 1940s,” Downing says.

At the same time, construction in southern Florida was booming. As the area became urbanized, much of the forests that the orchids relied on in the Everglades were cleared away for farming and houses. The combination of habitat loss and the orchid trade essentially wiped out South Florida’s orchid population.  

The Florida Everglades used to be home to millions of orchids. This swampy wetland once covered the southern two-thirds of Florida. Many of Florida's orchid species only grow on trees. The Everglade's forests of oak and mahogany trees provided a perfect habitat for the flowers.

But in the late 1800s, people began stealing the flowers to sell as houseplants. Some orchid poachers would even set fire to the forests. This would keep the plants rare and the prices high. "Orchids are one of the most exploited groups of organisms on the planet," says Jason Downing. He’s a botanist at Fairchild.

The Florida East Coast Railway opened in the late 1800s. The railroad made it even easier to bring millions of plants to northern states. "We lost three or four species and massive numbers of orchids between the early 1900s and the 1940s," Downing says.

Construction in southern Florida was booming during this time period. Much of the forests in the Everglades that the orchids relied on were cleared away. Developers used the wood for farming and houses. Orchids were sold as houseplants and destroyed by habitat loss. This combination essentially wiped out South Florida's orchid population.  

Without human help, South Florida’s orchids had no chance of bouncing back. Orchids grow very slowly. It takes up to four years for a seed to become an adult plant.

Each orchid seedpod produces millions of seeds as small as a speck of dust. It takes six to eight months for these pods to develop. But unlike other plant seeds that store nutrients within the seed to help it grow, orchid seeds lack this characteristic. Orchid seeds can grow only if they land on a patch of tree bark that has a specific fungus growing on it. This fungus is the growing plant’s main food source.  

Downing estimates that only 10 percent of orchid seeds germinate, or begin to grow into plants, in the wild. In a sterile lab, however, Downing and the students can germinate 100 percent of the seeds. “We can now directly provide the seeds with the nutrients they need to germinate: sugar, growth hormones, and micronutrients,” says Downing.

Today, there are thousands of plants slowly growing as part of the Million Orchid Project. That includes containers Alexa planted as a freshman that only now have sprouts big enough to be planted in the wild!

South Florida's orchids had no chance of bouncing back without human help. Orchids grow very slowly. It takes up to four years for a seed to become an adult plant.

Each orchid seedpod produces millions of seeds. Orchid seeds are as small as a speck of dust. It takes six to eight months for these pods to develop. But orchid seeds are special. Other plant seeds store nutrients within the seed to help it grow. Orchid seeds don’t. The seeds can grow only if they land on a patch of tree bark that has a specific fungus growing on it. This fungus is the growing plant's main food source. 

Downing estimates that in the wild only 10 percent of orchid seeds germinate. Germination is when a seed begins to grow into a plant. A sterile lab is different. Downing and the students can germinate 100 percent of the seeds. Orchids can get everything they need to grow directly in the lab, says Downing. Students and scientists give the seeds sugar, growth hormones, and micronutrients to make sure they will germinate.

Today, there are thousands of plants slowly growing as part of the Million Orchid Project. That includes containers Alexa planted as a freshman. They only now have sprouts big enough to be planted in the wild!

The trickiest part is finding a tree with the fungus that the orchids rely on. “That fungi is in the tiniest nook in the tiniest cranny on the highest-up branches,” says Alexa. “When we do find it, it’s like a gold mine.”

After identifying a suitable tree, the plant is attached firmly using a biodegradble adhesive that won’t hurt the plant’s roots or the tree’s bark. “The roots will begin to attach over a period of months or years,” says Downing.

Last summer, the Million Orchid Project planted hundreds of plants across Miami and its suburbs. And they have plans to plant hundreds more this summer. But from Downing’s perspective, this is only the beginning. The project’s goal isn’t just to plant 1 million orchids. Fairchild’s Million Orchid Project wants to create a new orchid population that will grow on its own over time. 

“The hope is these plants will mature, produce flowers, spread seeds, and start to pop up on their own,” says Downing.

The trickiest part is finding a tree with the fungus that the orchids rely on. "That fungi is in the tiniest nook in the tiniest cranny on the highest-up branches," says Alexa. "When we do find it, it's like a gold mine."

After identifying a suitable tree, the plant is attached. Fairchild uses an adhesive that won't hurt the plant's roots or the tree's bark. "The roots will begin to attach over a period of months or years," says Downing.

Last summer, the Million Orchid Project planted hundreds of plants across Miami and its suburbs. And they have plans to plant hundreds more this summer. But from Downing's perspective, this is only the beginning. The project's goal isn't just to plant 1 million orchids. Fairchild's Million Orchid Project wants to create a new orchid population that will grow on its own over time.

"The hope is these plants will mature, produce flowers, spread seeds, and start to pop up on their own," says Downing.