By Donna Abbruzzese

Our science classroom at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY investigated the greenhouse effect and its impact on global climate change. After a series of inquiry labs, both hands on and computer simulations, with additional follow-up investigation using the NOAA website I was ready to move on - however, the students were determined to find ways to limit the accumulation of greenhouse gases and their impact on the planet. My job at that point became one of facilitator rather than teacher!

The results were that the students investigated and identified simple steps that individuals could take to limit the production of carbon dioxide. After viewing many examples of effective public service announcements, they produced their own PSAs. Taking it another step further they committed to spreading the word through a science expo. In preparation they created informational displays and designed hands’ on activities to illustrate and motivate people to commit to action.

While at an NSTA conference in Cincinnati I happened upon the We Add Up display and brought information back to my students. They loved the idea of the unique-ness of the shirts and were eager to purchase them. The students agreed unanimously to donate any money raised by selling t-shirts to an ongoing project our school has undertaken to provide a water pump for an African village. In that way this project turned out to have many benefits - the environment and our fellow humans!

After all was said and done the Science Expo was a great hit, with well over 200 people from the community attending! The t-shirt sale and a bake sale that the students organized for the Expo resulted in the donation of $600 to the water pump project! Perhaps the most important benefit was the experience and sense of pride that the students are taking away from this multi-faceted project, in addition, they are now truly committed to continuing their work to improve the environment and take action to promote environmental awareness.

I couldn’t be prouder of my students!

Donna Abbruzzese
Farnsworth Middle School
Guilderland, NY

We Add Up now has a fan page on Facebook!  Please become a fan here:  http://www.facebook.com/weaddup.  We’re going to be doing major giveaways all throughout the year of We Add Up products and other green products we love.  Word around the office is there is going to be a MAJOR prize announced in the next week or two…   It’s also a place for you to post pictures of you and your friends and family in your We Add Up gear!  And, most of all, our fan page is a place to really interact with us and each other, share links, share tips, and generate new thoughts.  We always say that we have the best customers in the world, we truly enjoy you and appreciate you.  We look forward to getting to know you better on Facebook!  Become a fan today!

I planted a vegetable garden for the first time in 15 years. In February when the weather was dreary, I watched the PBS “This Old House” guys build a raised bed vegetable garden. It was the construction and creating part that intrigued me and I thought, “I want to make one”.

The first thing I did, while I was excited about the project, was buy some organic seeds and starter mix. I was very ambitious and started tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, watermelon, cantalope, cucumber, zucchini, and some lavender inside. This made me follow through with the hard labor of clearing space and building this garden when the weather broke.

I thought the raised bed could be a first step toward solving the deer problem I have, too. The challenge was fun. I bought 6 ten foot 2 x 10 treated lumber and a bunch of 2 x 4’s and built a 10′ x 20′ box with the 2 x 4’s extending the full length vertically. The guys in the show cut these corner braces flush but I figured if I used a whole piece and left it, I could use that to attach deer netting. It was really fun and rewarding to resolve the challenges that came along. I enlisted the help of my very patient boyfriend in digging out all that grass, screwing the wood together and then filling the box with 5 yards of organic garden soil. There isn’t certification for organic landscape material, but this was a mix of top soil and peat, taken from clean land that had not been farmed or leached upon, and manure.

Then came the planting. It filled up fast with all the seedlings I had grown, along with the seeds I wanted to plant directly in the bed: carrots, lettuce, beets, beans, peas, and spinach! I bought a few heirloom tomato plants and put those in too. I planted marigolds along the border to deter the rabbits and the deer too, and I looked up what plants like to grow next to each other. This helps in their optimal growth, nutrition and resisting pests. The watermelon and cantalope didn’t make it in and are taking their chances along side my driveway, but I have some of all the rest and we’ll see what does well this year and then make adjustments for next year!

Its so satisfying and calming to have a garden, and especially an organic garden. Learning about the plants and how to grow them without spraying them down with chemicals is very connecting to the life force. It feels so clean and pure. My yard and home have come alive again. I love just looking at it. And the deer netting is working! A fawn, with its mother a few feet away, was right next to the garden the other day and just ate the grass outside it! This project has led to more plants growing in pots on my deck too! I rooted the larger suckers I break off my tomatoes and started some herbs…basil, dill, parsley, sage, stevia, lavender. I’m looking forward to lots of fresh tomatoes this year! Oh my. There will be a lot share with family and friends, which is another great benefit to growing your own garden. It feels great!

- Judy (Mother and Co-Founder)

Congratulations to Komachin Middle School, the nation-wide winner in our We Add Up fundraising contest. Together, their students sold 182 We Add Up tees and, in addition to their 15% earnings, won a cash prize of $500! Their top-selling student, and winner of a $100 cash prize, is Jayda Cobb. Congrats, Jayda!

Komachin Middle School, located in Lacey, WA, is a public school with over 800 students. Service learning is a big deal at Komachin and students work to earn seals in the categories of Academics, Pride, and Wellness. An Americorp volunteer works with the students and they grow food for the food bank in their garden, recycle, and compost food from their cafeteria, among other things.

Teacher Vicki Leonard did a great job leading the fundraiser and helped inspire motivation by offering a fundraising certificate for the Pride seal when students sold 2 or more We Add Up tees. Ms. Leonard says, “Our kids were so excited about these t-shirts. Environmental science is very much embedded in our science program and school culture. Every day you see someone wearing one – staff or student. And, every time I wear one of the t-shirts, people always ask – what does that t-shirt mean?”

Ms. Leonard and the students used their earnings to help fund a trip to their port on Puget Sound. They saw the operations there and got to see and touch the 125 foot wind turbine blades that arrived at the port, bound for a wind farm in Eastern Washington.

Congratulations to Komachin Middle School!

I met Brian and Connie Harris in November at the San Francisco Green Festival.  Like many people, they wanted to get their whole family counted in the fight to stop climate change and give We Add Up tees as gifts.  But, the Harris’ took the commitment to a whole new level - their family created a “Cousins Rule Team” made of their eight grandkids!

As Ellie, one of the kids, so clearly put it: “We Add Up to save the world.”  Each of the three families is developing 1-3 earth-saving projects and they are updating each other every month through email (in addition to frequent family visits) on their progress.  They are using “50 Simple Things Kids can do to Save the Earth” and “Winston of Churchill, One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming” as their core inspiration.

We commend this clan of cousins and hope they’ll keep us updated on the great things they’re doing!

Cousins Rule Team: (left to right) Merrick (4 months, held by Dad), Connor, Allison, Kate, Holden, Ellie, Dayton and Lauren (aka “Number 1″).