April, 2015 – Saving the Monarch, Earth Day and Marching Against Monsanto

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April, 2015 – Saving the Monarch, Earth Day and Marching Against Monsanto

 

Happy April, everyone! I hope you got a chance to see our recent video about Saving the Monarch butterfly. At St. Michael church in Wellington, Norman Gitzen explains to a group of children why the Monarch is on the decline. We are happy to report that many of you have gone out to buy milkweed (or milkweed seeds), after seeing the video. This is the only thing that Monarchs eat.  Visit our “Videos” page for this video and other recent videos. THANKS so much to Monica Kallas, our video producer!  Oh, and here’s a fun thing for kids to do – and they can receive a free butterfly garden kit in the mail from the National Wildlife Federation. Just visit http://www.nwf.org/Butterfly-Heroes.aspx

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Hey Kids – this is all you have to do to get your free butterfly garden kit. Take a photo while making the sign language sign for “butterfly.”

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Earth Day is coming up this month on April 22nd.  I hope you are all doing something different in your daily routine to care for our one and precious Earth. Recycling, not purchasing bottled water, using efficient shower heads and toilets, not using pesticides in your yards (but natural solutions instead), growing a few things (even if it’s just an herb garden), bringing canvas bags to the grocery store, buying organic whenever possible…these are all great steps in the right direction!  Don’t forget to read our “Living Green” article each month, written by Jathy Garcia of Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air and Bryan Hayes – they take turns.  You can also like our Living Green Facebook page. If you want to take part in the Wellington Earth Day celebration, it will be held Sunday, April 19th from 4pm to 7pm at the Wellington Amphitheater. Read more about it on our “News & Events” page – https://aroundwellington.com/?p=31369

 

Another important way of living green is doing our part to stop the spread of pesticide-embedded foods that Monsanto has produced. Labeling GMOs in foods is a good start and one of our goals. It is now estimated that over 70 percent of our processed food in the USA contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Here in Wellington, we will be holding our first-ever and first annual March Against Monsanto on Saturday, May 16th beginning at 9am at the original Wellington Mall’s center court (located on Forest Hill Blvd). There will be a rally with speakers and a brief video presentation from 9am to 10am inside the original Wellington Mall, also known as the “old Wellington Mall.” Then the peaceful March will begin along Forest Hill Blvd. For any questions about the March Against Monsanto, please call Monica Kallas (561-762-1713) or Krista Martinelli (561-389-0252). Please bring your whole family, bring water, bring sunscreen, bring signs and/or t-shirts to show how you feel about the poison we are being fed by Monsanto. Here’s a brief video about GMOs – https://youtu.be/8vzSA5rBM20  I hope many of you join us!  In just the first week, over 100 of you have liked our Facebook page March Against Monsanto Wellington, FL. We are getting great support from our Village of Wellington, including an OK to march (and they are not even charging a permit fee). Thanks for all of your support so far!

 

This month I had the pleasure of touring two amazing sister schools – Planet Kids at Wellington and the WellingtonPreparatory School. I was very impressed with the principal Sandy Montoya and the owner Jeff Altschuler. They are doing great things with education there at Lake Worth Road and Lyons Rd. For elementary school kids, violin is mandatory. For all kids, preschool and up, they have an art program called “Meet the Masters.” Their testing scores at both schools are way above other schools in Florida and far above the national standard. Read the “AW Spotlight” article!

 

Have a wonderful month!  And please check out all of our new articles and photo galleries this month too.

 

Cheers,

 

Krista Martinelli

Editor

AroundWellington.com

 

 

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