Men In Green Moving To Final Challenge

By Eliza Hallabeck

Recently members of Men In Green, a group of Newtown Middle School students that got together to work on their eighth grade science project at the start of the year, learned their project had won them $10,000 and was being moved into the final round of the Lexus Eco Challenge.

“I was pretty surprised,” said Men In Green member Wesley Morlock, “because I did not expect us to win out of 16 teams in the nation.”

Team leader Vivek Tedla agreed, and said the group still has a lot of work to do.

The Lexus Eco Challenge, created by Lexus, the automaker, and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, was designed to educate young people about the environment and to inspire them to create a better world, according to the Lexus Eco Challenge.

The Men In Green team is one of 16 teams chosen nationwide by Lexus and to receive $10,000 for winning in their category. All winning teams from this challenge are being invited to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance to win one of two grand prizes of $30,000 in grants and scholarships, according to the Lexus Eco Challenge.

Through their project, the Men In Green members want to raise awareness about the effects of deforestation on the environment and global warming, according to the group’s website, www.meningreen.net.

Other members of the group with Vivek and Wesley are Austin Raftery, Matthew Mossbarger, Garrison Buzzanca, and Mike Davis.

“It is our goal to help reduce CO2 emissions by reversing deforestation,” the team wrote on their website. “We started this group as a school science project. The initial goal of the project was to create a small community garden to help bring awareness to everybody at school about this issue.”

All eighth grade NMS students are required to complete a science project over the course of the year. The students can sign up for different projects, and the Men In Green Team was the only one at NMS to sign up for the Lexus Eco Challenge.

The group members worked together to bring the initiative to Buzz’s Shell gas station at 286 South Main Street, owned by Gary Buzzanca. There the eighth graders planted 18 trees, donated by Home Depot and Lowe’s, just to the right behind the gas station. The group also took photos throughout the process and prepared a 20-slide PowerPoint presentation as part of their school project.

“I knew it was a good project,” said NMS eighth grade science teacher Beverly Andracchi. “It had the local action, and it reached out to the community. So I knew it was an excellent project.”

To be eligible for the Lexus Eco Challenge Ms Andracchi said the team had to register by the end of September and their project had to be completed by November 6.

“They had great initiative,” Ms Andracchi said about the group members.

The Men In Green Project, along with planting the trees at Buzz’s Shell gas station, are looking to obtain commitment from 1,000 people to plant at least one tree by July.

“Currently our project scope has expanded and taken off to a new level,” the group’s website says. “What we now want to do is make a huge difference by creating awareness beyond our school. We want to help reduce deforestation by planting trees all over the country.”

Vivek said the Men In Green group will be made into a legal nonprofit organization with the money the students won. Of the $10,000 won by the group, $3,000 will go to NMS, and the rest will be put to making the group a nonprofit organization and improving the group’s website, according to Vivek.

Ms Andracchi said the money the school is receiving from the students’ project will go toward creating an environmental action club at the school.

“We’d like to make a shout out to Newtown,” said Vivek, adding the project will soon expand outside of Newtown to other communities as well. “Could they please go to www.meningreen.net, and make a pledge?”

Further photos and information about the group can be found on its website, www.meningreen.net.