Green Arch Design

Click HERE to see msnbc’s interactive multi-media map of global warming.

I was looking around our website to make sure everything was up-to-date and noticed that we didn’t have a post on last summer’s movie Surf’s Up. So here it is! Surf’s Up was what we call an EcoFriendly event. This particular event was modeled after DisneyWorld’s popular KidCot program. It is a fun interactive way for children of all ages to learn about conservation.

An EcoFriendly event can occur at a movie opening, a WalMart, or even a school. This movie didn’t have the conservation theme of a Happy Feet but that didn’t matter. We partnered with the Sound of Light thru the greenLIFEproject to set up a booth where kids could learn about sustainability. The kids learned to carpool, recycle and use CFL light bulbs.

See this LINK for cost info on doing EcoFriendly events in your community.

It’s the dog days of summer. Trying to get caught up on some of the events that occurred this past spring. On May 30, the greenLIFEproject and GC-O’s Sound of Light Club brought Rock Band to the field day activities of Gray Court-Owings Middle School. All 3 grades (6th, 7th & 8th) were able to participate. We handed out Sound of Light/The Shine 96.7 stickers and gave the high scorers of each grade level a iPod Shuffle. 2nd and 3rd highest scorers from each grade got CDs donated by the Sound of Light. It was really cool! Hope we can do it again next year.

On May 19 and 21, the greenLIFEproject brought Rock Band, Guitar Hero II, Live Earth and An Inconvenient Truth to the 6th grade science classes of Greenville Middle Academy in an effort to help increase climate awareness. On June 8th, Northpointe Church held a Guitar Hero III Save the Planet tournament to help fund the green efforts of Greenville Middle Academy.

“We could have no ice at the North Pole at the end of this summer…” report scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. “If it does happen, in September it’s possible that ships could sail from Alaska right to the North Pole.” - excerpts from June 28 AFP article. What is Santa going to do?
Click here to read entire article.

Click on the link below to learn more about the climate and how you can make a difference.

Climate

Click here to play games!

Click here for “Global warming and earth processes”

“Our planet, the earth, is like a giant spaceship. Everything we need for survival is on board the ship — air for breathing, water for drinking and land for growing food.Also like a spaceship, our earth cannot make more air, water or land, or get more from outer space. In fact, the water you drink, the air you breathe and the ground you play on have been around for a very, very long time.” - From Illinois EPA Envirofun.

Click on the links below to learn about our earthship.

How Nature Recycles the Air You Breathe

How Nature Recycles Soil

How Nature Recycles Water

Hey kids, do you like finding out things about animals, entering contests, playing games and much more?  Then click on the link below and start having fun while you learn.

National Geographic Kids

Click here to explore and have worlds of fun.

EcoFriendly events are a timely and relevant way to reach the community. We at Green Arch Design Group have created a eco-friendly event series called the greenLIFEproject. Modeled after DisneyWorld’s popular KidCot program, the greenLIFEproject is a fun, interactive way for children of all ages to learn about conservation.

Total costs for a portable ‘booth’ or table that can be set-up at movie theatres, public schools, etc. is less than $250.00.

Volunteers

Volunteers needed for set-up, the event and take-down range from 2-6 persons.

Booth/Table Equipment & Costs

Folding Table - Office Depot Brand Budget Folding Table - $49.99
Table Cloth - K-Mart - $39.00
Portable Tent - K-Mart - $78.00

City of Greenville Recycle Brochure - FREE!

Greenville County Recycle Brochure - FREE!

Where Do You Recycle Difficult To Recycle Items Brochure - FREE!

EcoFriendly Kids Masks

The masks are the interactive part of this event. Children make masks similar to Epcot’s KidCot masks. They were given cutouts of a lightbulb, tree, car, and a recycle symbol to put on their masks. These symbols stood for the following:

Light bulb - Replace your burned out light bulbs with CFL’s - Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs.

Tree - Plant a tree to clean the air.

Car - Drive less, carpool and/or buy a high mileage/hybrid car.

Recycle Symbol - Recycling is something that everyone can do, even children.

Movie events.

We took our greenLIFEproject to the movie opening of Evan Almighty, the first “green” film to be made. Everything that was used in the movie was either donated to Habitat for Humanity or to the community where the movie was being filmed. Click on the link below to learn more about how this movie was “green”.

Evan Almighty

Have you ever wanted to live in an underwater house?  I know that I did as a kid after I saw the movie Hello Down There.  In the movie, a family goes down in the deep to live for 30 days in an environmental living project.  It has all the modern conveniences of their home on land.  They even invite a rock & roll band to come down and do a live recording.  Merv Griffin, as himself, even comes down for an underwater interview for his television show.  Oh, my, now I’m telling my age…

Well, the 1st Grade class at Paris Elementary designed their own version of an underwater house.  They drew an elevation, a floor plan, and even built a model of what their house would look like.  They came up with some really neat ideas.  It was fun to see them as they worked on their project.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the movie I was talking about, you need to…it’s really neat!

“This school year, eco-savvy kids and parents, aware of the almost four million acres of U.S. forest clearcut annually (not to mention the tons of discarded cell phones), return to store shelves seeking greener academic supplies and electronics. Yet some still find themselves at a loss. “I was recently at a major office supply chain to buy recycled or biodegradable pens and binders,” says Ellyn Feerick, a middle school teacher in Danvers, Mass., “but forget about it—they don’t exist.” Never fear. With some sleuthing, you can find more resources than ever to suit the environmentally minded student.” - Excerpt from The Green Guide

Click on the link below to find tons of eco-friendly school supplies.

School’s In 

We at Green Arch Design Group had the pleasure of working with the 5th Grade Challenge class of Duncan Chapel Elementary School a few weeks ago.  Below are some pictures of the students as they talk about different types of architecture.  Each student created a re-mix of an audio journal created by Clemson College Architectural student, Aaron Wells.  Aaron made these audio journals while studying in Europe. The students even added their own voices to their remixes.

Click on “Audio Journals” under “Catagories” to listen to the original audio journals.

Click on each student’s name to listen to their re-mix.

Austin

Brandai

Brianna

Britton

Brooke

Dana

David

Elizabeth

Emma

(Grace)

Jake

Justin

Kailan

Kendall

(Katherine)

Kim

Sam

Zadie

FUSION Explosion was exploding with excitement Friday, June 1st.  There were at least 200 students there, mingling with their friends.  They were also there to hear the group Daylight Wasting, a Christian rock band out of Greer, SC.  Also there that night was Tina Marie, a motivational speaker that travels the country talking about “Truths in secular music” as well as Abstinence.

The Fusion Warehouse Student Center is in an old Wal-Mart building in Anderson, SC.  It is a meeting place for 13-18 year olds.  The building is 66,000 square feet and has a video arcade, a cafe’, movie theaters and a 2000 seat concert area. 

Randall Brown, Fusion coordinator, stated that the youth center is “bringing the community, leaders, and organizations together”. 

Click on the link below to go to their website.  I spoke with them in May, and they said that they have been so busy with the students that they haven’t had time to update their website but you can still find some good information there.

Fusion Warehouse Student Center

Australia’s iconic koalas face an uncertain future as their fragmented habitats shift in response to climate change, fire and drought, an ecologist said.

For example, St. Bees island off the coast of Queensland is changing from “a koala-friendly forest to a koala-unfriendly forest,” said Alistair Melzer, an ecologist at Central Queensland University.  Melzer has studied koalas for nearly 20 years and the St. Bees Island koalas for 8 years. - Excerpt from National Geographic News

Click on the link below to read the entire artilce.

Koala

The last time we saw Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), he was being tormented by rival Bruce Nolan (’Bruce Almighty’) onscreen, live from their Buffalo TV station. But as time passed and Evan has made up with Bruce, he’s gone onto bigger and better things. Newly elected to Washington D.C. as a congressman, Evan has left Buffalo in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn’t serving in the illustrious ranks of American politics but being summoned by the Almighty himself (Morgan Freeman), who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark, much as Noah did before. With time passing by and his family belittled by Evan’s newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country, might actually be serving humanity.

As Steve Carell finds out in ‘Evan Almighty,’ building a giant ark can be funny — and a boatload of work.

Click on the link below to watch a movie clip.

Movie Clip

Parents, click on the link below to let your child help Evan get the animals into his ark.

Zoo Rescue

Play in, on and under the water with barely a ripple of impact. Here’s how to access these watersports which are simple, quiet, inexpensive, non-polluting and offer a healthy measure of exercise. Dive in! - Excerpt from the EARTHEASY website.

Click on the link below to access the different watersports.

Watersports

“How does time spent with your children help the environment?

A typical child growing up in North America today spends an average of 3 hours per day watching TV. In many cases, this is more time than spent with his/her own parents.
TV presents our children with a constant barrage of commercials and consumer values. Children today are obsessed with the things money can buy - do they understand the cost to the environment of needless consumerism?

Above all else, children crave time spent with their parents. Seize this opportunity to teach them your values, and indulge them with your own undivided attention.” - Excerpt from the EARTHEASY website.

Click on the link below to get access to many websites that offer activities for you and your child.

EARTHEASY

Want to have fun with your kids and teach them about recycling at the same time?  Go to the BE SMART website where you will find activity cards featuring fun ways for parents and their children to save money and reduce trash.

Click on the link below to see the activity cards

BE SMART

The first place winner was Tia.  Tia was given an i-Pod Shuffle and a Wal-Mart i-Tunes card. Tia’s audio journal re-mix is available FREE on iTunes as a Podcast. Click on “Audio Journals Podcast” under “Subscribe” or click on the link below to subscribe to this Podcast series.

Tia’s Audio Journal re-mix Podcast

The second place winner was Madison.  Madison was given a $20 Wal-Mart gift card. Madison’s audio journal re-mix is available FREE on iTunes as a Podcast. Click on “Audio Journals Podcast” under “Subscribe” or click on the link below to subscribe to this Podcast series.

Madison’s Audio Journal re-mix Podcast

The third place winner was Genevieve.  She was given a $10 Wal-Mart gift card. Genevieve’s audio journal re-mix is available FREE on iTunes as a Podcast. Click on “Audio Journals Podcast” under “Subscribe” or click on the link below to subscribe to this Podcast series.

Genevieve’s Audio Journal re-mix Podcast

We at Green Arch Design Group had the pleasure of working with the 5th Grade Challenge class of Lake Forest Elementary School a few weeks ago.  Below are some pictures of the students as they work on a re-mix of an audio journal created by Clemson College Architectural student, Aaron Wells.  Aaron made these audio journals while studying in Europe.

Click on “Audio Journals” under “Catagories” to listen to the original audio journals as well as the re-mixes created by several of the Lake Forest students.

These audio journals are also available on iTunes as Podcasts.  Click on “Audio Journals Podcast” under “Subscribe” or click on the link below to subscribe to this Podcast series.

Audio Journals Podcast

“Even with gas prices down for now, most of us would love to find a way to cut our fuel costs in half. One enterprising California winery found a way to do just that: replace their mowers with a herd of sheep. The CBS News video explains how the Navarro Vineyards keeps the “lanes” between grape plants clear with baby doll sheep that aren’t tall enough to munch on the crop. We’d guess that this helps keep the soil fertile, also.” - Excerpt by Jeff McIntire.

Click on the link below to watch the video - provided by CBS News

Winery Brings in the Sheep

The following are lesson plans created by Wild Republic.

Lesson Plans 2006-2007 Topics: Surviving Migration, Migrating Blackpoll, Nesting, Reproduction, Communication, Bird Talk, Journal.

Lesson Plans 2004-2005 Topics: Animal Talk, Invertebrate, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Ponds, Snakes, Journal.

Lesson Plans 2003-2004 Topics: Birds ,Puffins

Lesson Plans 2002-2003 Topics: Birds

Lesson Plans 2001-2002 Topics: Amphibians, Reptiles, Primates,

Lesson Plans 2000. Topics: Primates, Rainforest, Geography. Scroll to bottom of page. This page contains both 2000 & 2001 lesson plans.

Wyland Ocean Challenge - Clean water curriculum

“The International Mission Board has joined the world of podcasting with the launch of it “podTask”, taking students on missions adventures around the world.

With its weekly updates on iTunes and thetask.org, the podTask is full of information for students to get involved with international missions by hearing about what others are doing around the world in proclaiming Jesus’ name.” - Excerpt from The Baptist Courier

“We want to provide…videos, stories and music for students to download and watch to encourage them that GOd is moving around the world, and he’s using students to reach the world,” siad Felicity Watson , host of the podTask.

Click on the link below to go to the website.

Missions Podcast

Once you have signed on to the webpage, scroll down and click on PodTASK to subscribe to iTunes to listen to the podcasts as well as watch videos about missions.

 

Click on the link below to print a chart so you can keep up with how much trash you come up with in one day.

Waste Chart

Click on the link bleow to see pictures of roadside litter and how long it takes for each item to decompose.

Roadside Litter

Keep the P.I. flying high in the sky by clicking on the correct letter that will fill in the blanks.  This game is similar to hang-man.

P.I. in the Sky

Click on the link below to work the crossword puzzle.

Crossword Puzzle

FACING THE GIANTS

Click on the link below for more movie info

Movie Info

Click on the link below to watch the video preview

Movie Trailer

A failing high-school football coach who finds that in order to succeed he must convince his team that there’s more to sports than fame and glory.

In his six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never had a winning season. Even the hope of a new season is squelched when the best player on his Shiloh Eagles decides to transfer schools. After losing their first three games of the season, the coach discovers a group of fathers are plotting to have him fired. Combined with pressures at home, Coach Taylor has lost hope in his battle against fear and failure. However, an unexpected challenge finds a purpose bigger than just victories. Daring to trust God to do the impossible, Coach Taylor and the Eagles discover how faith plays out on the field–and off. With God, all things are possible.

Sony

 

 

Sony

 

Sony

 

Sony

Sony

 

Many of the Greenville Zoo Gift Shop toys come from Wild Republic. Visit the links below for Toys, Games & Lesson Plans.

Wild Republic home Games: Audubon Bird Quiz, Audubon Bird Puzzle

EPA KidsClub - Games

AOL - Global Warming - Cartoon, House Hunt, Baby Animals Asia,

National Geographic Explorer - African Safari, Rain Forest Ranger, Word Wise Challenge Jan-Feb 2007, Mighty Maya, Rock Stars,

National Geographic Kids - Pirate Game, Cartoon Factory, Wild & Wacky, Back Talk, Copycat, GeoBee, GeoSpy,

Rocky Mountain Institute - RMI for kids, Water Pie Chart, How Water Is Used, Links

Groundwater Foundation - KidsCorner. For Students & Educators: Activities, Games and Puzzles, Coloring Sheets, Programming.

EPA Kids Club - Water. Graphics: Water Cycle Adventure, What’s Wrong with This Picture, Web Demonstration: The Water Cycle, Links: Water Links Water Games: Games

New Jersey American Water - Water Zone Graphics: Water Cycle, Water Treatment, Experiments, Activities, Coloring, Water Drip Calculator, Links

NASA Observatorium - Water Cycle, Planet Earth

Franklin Institute Science Museum - Ocean Art Activities