STEM RESEARCH · TEAM 71434 SIGMA7
Sip & Sprout.
Your coffee can grow biodiversity.
Scanned a coffee sleeve? You're in the right place. Here's how a few native plants can help pollinators thrive in Northern Virginia.
Monarch on milkweed · Pexels
Project at a glance
How can an everyday habit help restore pollinator habitat in Northern Virginia?
Turn coffee cup sleeves into seed-information tools with a scannable QR code.
Native plants support far more local wildlife than non-native landscaping.
Point neighbors to Plant NOVA Natives guides and local nurseries.
WHY NATIVE PLANTS?
A lawn can look green
and still be quiet.
Urban expansion is steadily replacing natural habitats with lawns and non-native landscaping. That fragments the food and shelter local pollinators need to survive, and local biodiversity drops.
Plant choice matters. The trees and flowers we choose decide how many insects, and in turn how many birds, a yard can support.
As few as three caterpillar species live on some non-native street trees.
Caterpillar species native oaks can host, providing essential food for birds raising their nestlings.
Bee on wild bergamot · Pexels
WHAT WE'RE DOING
A coffee sleeve
with a next step.
Sip & Sprout turns everyday coffee cup sleeves into interactive seed-information tools. Grab a coffee at a partnering shop and scan the QR code on your sleeve to learn how to support native pollinators and help restore Northern Virginia's ecosystems.
- 01Grab a sleeve
- 02Scan the QR code
- 03Plant something native
Restoration starts
in your backyard.
We're proud to partner with Plant NOVA Natives to promote native plants across Northern Virginia. Discover the best plants for your space, get planting guides, and find local nurseries that sell natives.
Visit Plant NOVA NativesOUR TEAM
A BioGlow project
by Team Sigma7.
We're Team 71434 from McLean Robotics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We developed Sip & Sprout for the FIRST LEGO League BioGlow Challenge, which asks teams to design innovative solutions to real-world problems that put local biodiversity at risk.
CONTACT US
Let's grow
something good.
Questions about the project, or interested in partnering with us? Email roboticsmclean@gmail.com.