Two young students from Sakarya and Gaziantep created a “mail art” project in which they transformed several lichens and flowering plants found in Antarctica into products such as postage stamps, envelopes, and postcards using their own hand-drawn illustrations, carried out a project titled “Promoting Antarctica’s Lichens and Flowering Plants Through Mail Art.” They later had this work printed in various sizes in collaboration with the PTT General Directorate. The lichens and plants were collected during our National Antarctic Science Expeditions; after being analyzed in the laboratory, a few specimens were sent to the students. The students, who also examined cross-sections under a microscope, completed the drawings using their own artistic skills.

As part of the project, the students first used their products to gauge awareness among high school students. They then continued to raise awareness by reaching out to hundreds of people through correspondence. With this work, they participated in the 2021 2204-C High School Students’ Polar Research Project Competition. Subsequently, they presented their work at the Fifth National Polar Sciences Workshop, where they had the opportunity to showcase their research to a platform of scientists who have conducted fieldwork in the polar regions.