2012 Green Up Day poster winners

Congratulations to the 2012 Green Up Day overall poster design winner, Abbey Jermyn, a 10th grader from Montpelier High School! Her design will be used as the promotional image for this year's Green Up Day posters, which will be displayed on bulletin boards around the state. She will also received $200 and be honored, along with 31 other category winners, at our annual Awards Banquet on March 30th at the Capital Plaza. Here are the grade category winners:

K – 1 winners:
Leia Barth, Open Fields School, Grade 1
Mariah Emerson, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 1
Mackenzie Maher, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 1
Isabella Sepulveda-Muniz, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 1
Gage Simpson, Barre Town Middle and Elem. School, Grade 1

Grades
2-3 winners:
Nicole Dutton, Irasburg Village School, Grade 2
Bailey Phillips, Poultney Elementary School, Grade 2
Max Burt, Lyndon Town School, Grade 3
Colby Langtange, Lyndon Town School, Grade 3
Ainsley Wells, Lyndon Town School, Grade 3

Grades
4-5 winners:
Alia Edmunds, Neshobe School, Grade 4
Graigory Farley, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 4
Adrien Larocque, Bristol Elementary, Grade 4
Madeline Prouty, Flood Brook Union School, Grade 5
Nicole Voitechonok, Flood Brook Union School, Grade 5

Grades
6-7 winners:
Elissa Deering, Randolph Home School Group, Grade 6
Kennedy Moore, Reading Elementary School, Grade 6
Anna Sarquiz, Main Street Middle School, Grade 6
Kiara Tetreault, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 6
Parker Nolan, Barre Town Middle and Elem. School, Grade 7

Grades
8-9 winners:
Elisa Fantoni, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 8
Lauren Lamberton, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 8
Jordan Farquharson, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 9
Felicia Forsyth, Mount Mansfield, Union High School, Grade 9
Kate Martens, Martens’ Homeschool, Chester, Grade 9

Grades
10-12 winners:
Luke Hammer, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Maddie Hersam, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Sarah Ludwin-Peery, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 10
Taylor Paone, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 11
Dillon Williams, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 11
Molly Sargent, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 12

Reminder: Poster and Writing Projects Deadline January 31st

It is that time of year again......when we start spreading the word about our upcoming annual Poster and Writing Projects. Kids grades K-12 are encouraged to enter one or both of the projects, as individuals or as a part of their school classroom activities, if their teacher is participating. Homeschoolers are encouraged to submit too! Please see our Poster and Writing Project pages for information:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contests.php

Annual Green Up Vermont Poster and Writing Projects

It is that time of year again......when we start spreading the word about our upcoming annual Poster and Writing Projects. Kids grades K-12 are encouraged to enter one or both of the projects, as individuals or as a part of their school classroom activities, if their teacher is participating. Homeschoolers are encouraged to submit too! Please see our Poster and Writing Project pages for information:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contests.php 

Subaru of New England Green Up Day $5,000 Raffle Prize

Congratulations to Mr. Mears of the Brattleboro area, who won Subaru of New England's Green Up Day Raffle Prize! He received $5,000 worth of landscaping from Linden Landscaping of West Addison, Vermont. He is pictured here at Brattleboro Subaru. Thank you to Subaru of New England for hosting this raffle and for generously providing the $5,000 prize!

Press Conference with the Governor

Montpelier, Vt. – Gov. Peter Shumlin, Green Up Vermont President Melinda Vieux and Ski Vermont President Parker Riehle today encouraged Vermonters to participate in Vermont’s iconic Green Up Day.

Gov. Shumlin said Vermont’s annual Green Up Day—Saturday May 7th — is one of the greatest demonstrations of the state’s longstanding commitment to the environment.

“Each year thousands of Vermonters volunteer to help make our state a cleaner, greener place to live and work,” the Governor said. “I invite every Vermonter who can to find a little time to contribute to this important effort.”

He also noted that Green Up Vermont is a nonprofit organization with 501(c) (3) status, not a state agency.

“The entire effort relies on the support of local communities, the volunteerism of individuals and the generosity of employers all throughout Vermont,” Gov. Shumlin added. “It’s a wonderful Vermont tradition.”

Green Up Vermont’s mission is to promote the stewardship of Vermont’s natural landscape and waterways and the livability of our communities by involving people in Green Up Day and raising public awareness about the benefits of a litter-free environment.

“Vermont has a lot of traditions to be proud of and our environmental legacy of sharing the goal to keep Vermont a clean, safe, beautiful and welcoming place is certainly one of them,” said Vieux. “But we must remember, Green Up Day's success depends upon two essential ingredients: one, the combined efforts of individuals and civic groups volunteering to make it all possible; and two, financial support given by the public and private sectors throughout Vermont. This is truely, a traditional, grassroots effort.”

To learn more about local Green Up Day activities, check your local newspaper; visit greenupvermont.org; or call 800-974-3259.

ABOUT THE SKI VERMONT GREEN UP DAY CONTEST

Ski Vermont President Parker Riehle said the association of ski areas wanted to enhance the work many of its members, associate members and partners do for Green Up Day by organizing a light-hearted contest that encourages Green Up Day participants to share their stories and their appreciation for Green Up Day.

“Our contest is open to any person, group of people, organization or company that participates in Green Up activities,” Riehle said.

Specifically, Ski Vermont will award prizes for:

•Team Spirit
•Most Unique Piece of Trash; and
•Best overall Green Up Day story.
Each category requires either a video or photo submission with a brief written explanation.

Participants will enter to win prizes by posting their photos, videos and/or written explanations on the Ski Vermont Facebook Page or by emailing submissions too info@skivermont.com. Prizes will be provided by Ski Vermont and Green Up Day partners Cabot Creamery, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Long Trail Brewing Company, Darn Tough Socks and Rossignol.

“We are really looking forward to the results and have no doubt that it will be a fun way to capture, and increase, the enthusiasm that Vermonters have for Green Up Day,” Riehle added.

Bags and posters!

The bags and posters are ready early this year! Everything has been delivered to the District Garages throughout the state. From there, the District folks deliver all the bags and posters to the towns. If you are new to Green Up Day and want to participate, please visit our How to Participate page: http://www.greenupvermont.org/participate.php Click on your county and you will see your town coordinator contact information. Your coordinator will tell you how to get the Green Up Bags and then what to do with them once they are full! Green Up Day is May 7th this year!

Writing Project winner and the Awards Banquet

This year's annual writing project winner is Corinne Lyndes of Fairlee! She is in grade 7. Here is her wonderful poem:


Green Up Day by Corinne Lyndes

Winter hides the dead of fall,

It’s a flawless heaven that covers all.

But when the snow begins to melt,

What we’ve done is uncovered.

There’s so much trash,

The ground is smothered.

Spring is a time for

A cloudless day, flowers to bloom, and animals to play.

The grass should be green,

So get up and keep the environment clean!

Our state and our towns deserve so much more, so we should see the forest floor.

This is where our children play, so help out!

It’s Green Up Day.

Rosie Hark, grade 2, of Williston was our Elementary School winner.

Samantha Beaulieu, grade 6, of Brown's River Middle School, was our Middle School winner.

Aubrie Sauer, grade 11, of Mount Anthony Union School was our High School winner.

Congratulations!

The writing winners, along with the poster winners, will all be honored at our March 25th banquet at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.