Welcome to Sri Lanka

Every once in a while, a report comes in that makes me sit back, take a deep breath, and shake my head in disbelief. Halfway around the world from where the vast majority of Earth Day Grocery Bags are decorated and distributed, a small community in Sri Lanka joined in. It's worth a read:

Report from Sri Lanka

Happy Earth Day, every day, everywhere!

Pics and reports still coming in

As of May 3, pictures and reports are still coming in! I encourage visitors to the Earth Day Groceries Project to take a look at

• Read Reports
• Project Pictures

Very inspirational messages and pictures! I am amazed by how many reports talk about repeating "this again next year". I've been doig this for many years, but the resolute sound of so many schools reporting in is very encouraging!

Participants - it's not too late to send in reports or pictures. Reports that are sent in now appear on the web site within a few hours. Pictures take a little longer. Anything sent in after April 28th is not on the web site yet, but I hope to be caught up by Thursday night. Those sending in pictures are always notified by email when their pics are on the web site. - Mark

Picture of the day 4/27/06, behind on pics!

Seems like I'm seeing a LOT more middle schools participating this year than in the past. Starting out, the Earth Day Groceries Project was almost exclusively elementary schools. Am glad to see older kids aren't "too cool" to join in!

Anyway, here are a couple of really nice designs from Colerain Middle School in Cincinnati, Ohio

I am behind on posting new pictures. If you sent pictures in for your organization any time after April 24th, they will be added to the website this weekend. Sorry for the delay! - Mark

Picture of the day 4/26/06 - and picture status

From Madison Simis Elementary in Phoenix, AZ, this collection of bright and beautiful bags.

If you are wondering where your pictures are, I am currently two days behind in getting pictures up on the website, which means all pics sent in up through 4/24 are on the site. I will try to pull even this weekend! - Mark

Picture of the day 4/25/06

IMG_0318
Originally uploaded by 5B@MAS.

From Mamaroneck Avenue School in Mamaroneck, NY. Gordon Brune's 5th graders partnered with a kindergarten class to create this and many others. Lots more pics here.

Picture of the day 4/24/06

Here's a sinple, yet strikingly beautiful bag from Clancy Elementary School in Clancy, MT.

Picture of the day 4-23-06!

While pictures are coming in on a daily basis, I thought I'd try and post a "picture of the day" for the next couple of weeks...

This is from the International Berckley School in Barranquilla, Colombia. The project is spreading internationally, as well as in the US.

Happy Earth Day!

Well, here it is, April 22nd. Thanks to the efforts of kids all over the world, shoppers will go home today with an important message: that today is Earth Day - and that kids care about it!

Reports are coming in by the minute - as are pictures. Keep checking back to those web pages for updates frequently. For those sending things in, just a reminder that reports are added to the web site within 24 hours, and pictures within a week. But I'm scrambling really hard right now to get those new pictures up asap. I know, as a third grade teacher, how important it is for kids to see their work quickly.

Thanks to everyone for all their hard work and beautiful artwork.

Happy Earth Day!

Participation certificates ready

Way overdue, but they are now finally ready for 2006 - participation certificates. After you send in a report, you end up on this web page. So, if you've sent in a report and would like to get a certificate to print out and fill in, head over to http://www.earthdaybags.org/awards/ You can get one just for your school/organization, or one for your school and your grocery store.

Thanks to the sponsors!

In the middle of all the excitement leading up to Earth Day, it seems this is an appropriate time to thank those who have helped The Earth Day Grocieries Project over the years, by supporting the web site. There is a lot going on behind the scenes on the site - multiple databases, asp pages, and lots more complicated stuff.

Many thanks to the American Forest & Paper Association, a sponsor of the project for many years. This web site would not be here, with the wealth of information it has available, without their support! Thank you!



This year we are very excited to welcome Albertsons as a sponsor! We are extremely grateful for their support, and we hope this will continue a partnership for a long time into the future. I will be accepting a sponsorship check from them at their Mercer Island, Washington store (#450) on Saturday, April 22nd, at 10:00 AM (that's Earth Day!).

Be sure to take a look at the Project Sponsors page for more information. - Mark

Pictures are coming in!

Pictures from 2006 are starting to come in! Check them out at the Pictures Page. If you are sending in pictures from your effort this year, be sure to read How to Send in Pictures

Here's one from St. Alexander School in Fonthill, Ontario, Canada. Aren't they beautiful?!

Happy Earth Day, everyone! - Mark

Send in your report!

The Earth Day Groceries Project website is now ready to accept reports from participating schools (and other groups!). Go to the Send in Your Report page, and enter your information. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Thanks! - Mark Ahlness

Poster out of stock!

Unfortunately, due to an incredibly high demand for the poster, the supply has run out! Many thanks to The Paper Bag Council of the AF&PA!

Requests already received will hopefully be fulfilled. For any changes or updates, stay tuned to this blog.... - Mark

Sending in reports

The project web site is not quite ready to accept reports for 2006 yet, but participants from previous years can send them in at any time, by heading over to Send in Your Report on the Project Website at www.earthdaybags.org

The minute we're ready to accept reports for 2006, it'll be posted here, so stay tuned. I hope everybody is having a good time with those bags! April 22nd will be here before you know it! - Mark

New desktop wallpaper!

One of the most exciting times for me running this project is when I get to unveil the new desktop wallpaper for the year. Well, 2006 is now ready to go - and it is by far the most exciting we've ever had to offer! Thanks to the wonderful generosity of expert birder and project friend Marv Breece, we have some incredible photographs of birds, for use as desktop wallpaper.

The picture here is of a northern saw-whet owl - one of over a dozen exquisite photos ready to go.

Head over to The Project Starter kit, and click on "Desktop Wallpaper".

Posters now available!!

Project posters are now available online. These are once again offered free, and there is a brand new design this year! Head to the Requests for Posters page. Many thanks again to the American Forest & Paper Association!

Posters available again!

Great news! I just received word from the AF&PA (American Forest and Paper Association) that The Earth Day Groceries Project poster will again be available this year! They are in fact working on a new, updated version. This will continue to be distributed free to organizations participating in the Earth Day Groceries Project.

Requests for the poster can be made only by filling out the form on the Project web site. Please do not send email requests for the poster. The form will be set up hopefully by the end of February.

Watch this space to find out when the poster requests first become available. Subscribe to this blog via rss (see right) and get the news when it breaks! - Mark

Project posters

I've already received several requests for the Project poster, offered in years past by the American Forest & Paper Association. I do not yet know if the poster will be available, but I am checking on this now. I will say that international orders will probably not be possible, based on what has been offered before.

Whatever news I find out about the posters - good or bad - I will post here immediately - so, add this blog to your rss reader, list of favorites, bookmarks, etc. and stay in the loop! - Mark

The Project Blog is born

Here is what I hope will become a useful medium for conveying information about the Earth Day Groceries Project. Comments are open to anyone. I really hope many will take advantage of the rss feeds. This will be a much more dynamic line of communication. It also will be a lot easier for me, as the project manager and webmaster, to convey late breaking news.