A Little Greener Every Day Turns One!

Happy One Year Anniversary to A Little Greener Every Day! It's been exactly one year since I first posted on this blog. I had no idea what I was doing. But here it is, a year later, and I've got readers and new friends and not only do I write this blog, but I've been hired to write about green other places because of this blog.

I really appreciate all of you who read A Little Greener Every Day regularly and take the time to comment.

I don't have any big plans for the upcoming year or anything like that. I'm going to continue to post. I'm going to continue to try to be a little greener each day and let you know what I learn. I hope you all will stick around.

One of my very first posts on this blog was Read a Banned Book. The American Library Association dedicates the last week in September (starts tomorrow) to bringing to light the problem of banning books. I'll be wearing my "I Read Banned Books" button all week. I'll also be reading my favorite banned book of all time A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

I wrote a piece yesterday for Sustainablog about the importance of making sure our freedom of speech is protected from those who want to ban books. Believe it or not, someone wanted to ban the Lorax back in the late 1980's. You can check out the post Ban Dr. Seuss' The Lorax? for more info.

I encourage you to read a banned book next week, too.

Going Back to School in Green Style Part 5: Getting Involved

Welcome to the end of our going back to school week. So far we've covered:

• Assessing What You Already Have before you buy anything
• Shopping Sustainably for back to school supplies
• Trashless Lunches
• and
• Transportation

Today, I'm going to talk about the influence that you as a parent can have on your school's environmental impact. There are a lot of things that aren't green about our public school systems, but many of them are willing to make changes, when they have the help and support of parents.

Teachers are very busy and administrations are often overwhelmed with running the schools and dealing with new state regulations that are thrust upon them. If parents expect them to make the environmental changes that they would like to see happen without offering to help them make the changes, chances are those changes are going to get put on the bottom of the to do pile.

You know that Ghandi quote that you see EVERYWHERE nowadays, "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World." Here is a great place to apply it. Be the change you wish to see in your school.

If there is a specific change you would like to see made, the best way to do this is to approach the school employee (teacher, principal, superintendent, etc.) who you think has the most influence over that area. The best way to do this is to make an appointment. If you've got an appointment, then the person will have time blocked out to speak to you and really listen. If you just peak your head in the persons door or try to visit after a hectic day of school without making an appointment, you'll be infringing on that persons time and he or she probably won't be able to give your request the consideration it needs.

If you don't have a specific change you want to make, but still want to help the school become greener, here are a few suggestions:

• Get involved with the school parent/teacher organization and suggest a green fund raiser. Schools get in a rut with their fundraisers, and many sell the same wrapping paper and cheesecakes year after year. Grandparents and neighbors buy things they don't really want and a lot of useless, unneeded stuff ends up sitting in closets.
  There are lots of green fundraisers on the market right now that sell reusable bags, stainless steal water bottles, CFL lightbulbs and other items that people can really use.
  
  
• If your lunchroom doesn't recycle, help to start a recycling program. You can even help them start a recycling program for Capri Sun pouches.
  
  
• Offer to sponsor an after school environmental club.
  
  
• If there is the right type of land, help start an organic vegetable garden where the food can be used in the cafeteria or donated to a local food bank.
  
  
• Volunteer in your child's classroom on Earth Day and read The Lorax and talk about the importance of trees.
  
  
• If your school is doing any type of renovation or building projects, get on the parent board and help them to choose environmentally friendly options for the building.
  

Okay, those a few starter suggestions. If you've got any others, please add them to the comments.

The Lorax Project - Final Update

It just occurred to me that I never ran a final update on The Lorax Project that we'd been wondering about. One of the reasons is because on Earth Day, when their website was to be up and running, there were only a couple things on the site, and they were all marketing things aimed at adults. One was to raise money for a environmental organization. The other was for CFL bulbs. 

I was very disappointed. There was nothing for kids on the site. But, I've visited since and the site has been expanded. There are activities for kids on the site now. Like this list of 20 things kids can do to "speak for the trees" or these games.

The Lorax Project Update

As promised, I'm checking up on The Lorax Project website from time to time to see if it's up and running. As of today, it's still unavailable. I did find some information on Publishers Weekly website from an article titled Green Spotlight Shines on The Lorax.

According to the article, the book's publisher Random House will launch the project "on April 22 in conjunction with Conservation International and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of environmental issues and raise money that will be used by Conservation International to fund activities to protect endangered forests and species."

Okay, so there's a little more information. Funds raised from The Lorax Project will help to protect endangered forests and species. Make perfect sense with the theme of the book.

I checked out Conservation International's website, and as of right now, I can find no information on the project. 

I'm thinking about contacting Random House and seeing if they can give me any more information. I'll keep you all posted on what I find.

Remember "UNLESS someone like you care a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Dr. Suess' The Lorax Project

 I've mentioned the book The Lorax on this blog quite a few times, but I have a confession to make. We never owned the book up until today. We have, however, borrowed it from the library dozens of times over the past six years or so. But my brother gave me a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, and I spent hours online the other night choosing books. 

The books came today, and attached to my new copy of The Lorax is a sticker that says it is printed on recycled paper (yay!) and mentions something called The Lorax Project.

This is what the back of the book says: On Earth Day 2008, Conservation International, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and Random House will launch The Lorax Project, a multifaceted initiative designed to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire earth-friendly action worldwide by passionate individuals of all ages. 

It says to visit www.theloraxproject.com, but as of right now the link doesn't work. I suppose it will work by April 22nd (Earth Day), but I'll be checking frequently and if it works before then, I'll let you know.

I'm hoping that whatever The Lorax Project turns out to be, it's something that I can share with my boys. They love Dr. Suess, and I've been looking for ways to get them more interested in environmental concerns. I'd love it if eventually they took this on as their own concern, and not just something that their mom does and they join in once in a while. 

Dr. Seuss was a Tree Hugger

I just finished reading my five year old The Lorax. I love, love, love that book. It is such a gentle introduction for a child on the importance of caring for the earth and yet a pointed lesson for the adult who reads it to the child.

I love what is said near the end:

"But now," says the Once-ler,
"Now that you're here,
the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear.
UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It's not.

Thanks Dr. Seuss, for helping me to teach my kids at a very young age to care a whole awful lot.