"Green My School"

CBS and EcoZone Media teamed up to put on a great project for schools in three areas across the country. It's called the "Green My School" contest and the winners have started to be announced...in San Francisco, the Chicago area and Miami.

The winning schools receive "green" makeovers, amounting to over $100,000 in green school supplies, green products and green services.

Refillable whiteboard markers are one of the components to the "Green My School" contest, as each winning school gets outfitted with AusPen markers. What does that mean? It means no more Expo markers being thrown in the trash bin and hauled off to the local landfill. It means reducing the toxicity in classrooms, making it a better environment for the students, but also for teachers, who have to stand inches away from markers with Xylene for large parts of the day.

And one of the great benefits as well, the schools will start to save literally thousands of dollars every year by using a recycled, refillable product...the AusPen markers cut whiteboard marker budgets by more than 70% when they get in the system.

It's a great contest and congratulations to all schools who sent in entries.

California Green Schools

We just got back from the California Green Schools Summit in Anaheim. It was a great event with smart people and companies focused on making California schools greener. We met people from all over the state and it was great to talk with so many educators that are current users of the AusPen dry erase markers.

It was the second conference in the last 30 days we attended in California - the first one was in San Francisco (Green Festival) and this one in southern California. The focus on green initiatives in the Golden State is impressive and inspiring.

The groups of people we spoke with make sustainability a part of their daily routines and they are constantly looking for ways to be greener, whether it is something as easy as changing over to a refillable dry erase marker, or non-toxic cleaners in the schools all the way to major projects like going completely solar, or Leeds-certified construction of new schools.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the AusPen booths, we appreciate it and look forward to speaking with you in the New Year to help you make your schools and companies greener.