Congrats to Natty Paint!

GHCC is thrilled to see local designer Emily Li Mandri - of Natty Paint fame - on the cover of today's Baltimore City Paper. The feature chronicles Emily's journey from teaching herself to silkscreen, to producing what has quickly become an established indie clothing label right here in Charm City.

"Most of my sales are happening in Baltimore," Emily says. "People like seeing something fashion-forward here and want to support me."

We count ourselves among these supporters, as Emily is who designed and printed some dazzling t-shirts (pictured above) for our 40 Trees in 40 Neighborhoods initiative.

So, in celebration of today's feature story, we're offering our 40 Trees tees at a special discounted rate of $15 for one week only! Each one is hand-printed by Emily herself on organic cotton with eco-friendly inks and can be purchased at our online store. All proceeds go towards our efforts to plant 1,600 trees by Spring 2011.

"I cannot believe I made the front page," says Emily. "It's a huge achievement for everyone involved in Natty Paint and myself. We've been working hard for one year to generate buzz about what we're doing and it's finally happening!"

To see more Natty Paint designs, visit http://www.nattypaint.com/.

Competing for a Good Cause: More Trees!

Submitted by Olga Maltseva

A little competition can do a lot of good when Baltimore City College High School and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute get involved!

On October 24, 2009, Poly and City will compete in a tree plant-off organized by GHCC’s 40 Trees in 40 Neighborhoods Initiative. Each school will vie to outdo the other and plant the most trees on their campus. Joined by volunteers from the surrounding community, students from each school will spend the morning digging holes, planting trees, watering, mulching, and removing invasive plants.

The students know how much good they’re doing – more trees in the ground means less contaminated run-off, better air and water quality, and an overall better quality of life for everyone on the campus. Of course there can only be one “winner,” but no matter who puts the most trees in the ground, the real winners on October 24 will be the Jones Falls, the Herring Run, the Chesapeake Bay, and the citizens of Baltimore.

Want to join us on the 24th and be a part of this historic event? Email Audrey Stevens at astevens@greaterhomewood.org and stay in the loop by joining the event on Facebook.

Part of GHCC's 40th anniversary celebrations, this plant-off is made possible by TreeBaltimore, the Jones Falls Watershed Association, the Herring Run Watershed Association, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the students, parents, alumni, and administrations at both schools.

A Fifth Grader Reacts to Guilford Elementary/Middle School's Tree Planting

Written by Michelle Beverly, 5th Grade Student, Guilford Elementary/Middle School.

On Friday, April 24, all 5th graders enjoyed planting the trees. I have heard from many 5th graders that they loved the activity. This is what we did: first, we saw how big the tree [to be planted] was. Then, we dug a hole big enough to plant the tree. I found over 100 worms, so I put some back to help the tree grow. I also asked [my classmates], was it fun at the time? They said yes. By the time we finished our first tree we moved on. Mr. Sam needed some help with five more trees. Mr. Sam asked if I could round them up and of course I said yes. I got all the 5th graders to come on over and help me finish, but there was one tree we forgot. But bad news, we had to go and we couldn't plant the other tree -- I was a little upset about having to go but really planting the trees was worth it because it made Guilford School a beautiful place, so thank you!