Planting is underway on The The Growing Connection Garden at the Smart Home that is currently being built on the grounds of the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, which was made possible with the support of WIRED, EarthBox, MSI and the UIUC Extension and Master Gardeners. The boxes will be planted with a variety of herbs and vegetables spanning two full growing cycles beginning with cool season plantings that are currently underway through a fall harvest of pumkpins and squash.

There will also be EarthBoxes on display on the terrace of the house and in the museum as well. We will be installing a web cam on the garden, and people will be able to check in online and monitor the progress of the garden along with a regularly updated blog about the garden on here on The Growing Connection's website.

The majority of the produce grown in the boxes will be donated to the ABJ Food Services in Hyde Park. At the close of the Smart Home, the EarthBoxes will be donated to 4 different schools, creating 4 new Growing Connection sites in Chicago.

The Smart Home Exhibit opens May 8 and runs through November 9. Go to the Museum of Science & Industry website for more information. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

In Chiapas, Mexico, on April 28, The Growing Connection and AMD's 50X15 program (http://www.50x15.com/en-us/) are launching their first active partnership, matching school and community gardens in the market communities of Oxchuc and San Juan Chamula with brand-new IT Learning Labs, developed and installed by AMD. The young people of these towns will learn horticulture, vegetable production and nutrition as they simultaneously learn IT communications, becoming linked through the Learning Labs with vital sources of information, and with their peers in TGC around the world.

The inauguration will be carried out by the Governor of Chiapas, Sr. Juan Sabines, the Senator Orantes, the National Senator from Chiapas, who welcomed this collaboration to her District, and AMD's CEO, Dr. Hector Ruiz.

TGC's participation in this initiative has received generous financial support from the National Association of Agricultural Educators (http://www.naae.org/). This event illustrates the best aspect of public / private sector cooperation and mutual action to help young below to grow, learn and determine their destiny. We hope this will lead to expanded joint action across Mexico, Latin America and around the world.
[Submitted by Amy] {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

Colonial Trail Elementary School has recently joined The Growing Connection. Representatives of The Growing Connection, visited the school in early February to train teachers and kickoff the project. Through the program, Colonial Trail Elementary will begin growing crops in ten EarthBoxes purchased through the fundraising efforts of the PTA, SCA and a grant given by the Henrico Education Foundation . Once Colonial Trail has finished a season of growing vegetables and herbs, they can begin the process of adopting a school in another part of the world, which involves purchasing EarthBoxes and materials for the adopted school to begin their own growing process. Staying connected via the Internet, the two schools will work side-by-side tracking water and light adjustments, plant measurements, and sharing experiences with each other. Ultimately, five to six schools will communicate as a group from different parts of the world. The project allows students and families in America, Nicaragua, Ghana and Mexico to learn from one another and potentially earn income where it is most needed and break the cycle of world hunger. For additional information, contact Mychael Dickerson, director of media relations and safety liaison, mddickerson©henrico.k12.va.us or 652-3724. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

We are pleased to welcome Collective Roots to The Growing Connection. We had the pleasure of meeting Executive Director Wolfram Alderson and visiting their sites in East Palo Alto, this past week and they planted their first 10 EarthBoxes on Saturday, December 15. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

Longtime friends of The Growing Connection, WILCO chose The Growing Connection as one of the beneficiaries of their poster sales. The proceeds from the band's August show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley generated $4,050 which we received from the band this week. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

Internal News Release December 2006
From Joe and Ida Kwarteng, TGCCoordinators in Ghana

The School for the Deaf in Cape Coast has been awarded the National Farmers' Day Award for having the best School Farm in Ghana for the Basic School (From Primary to Junior Secondary School) category. They were awarded with a certificate personally from the President of Ghana and prizes including a Corn Mill, Color TV Set, Bicycle, Sewing Machine, Rubber Bowls, Assorted Farm inputs, Wellington Boots, Cutlasses, Knapsack Sprayers, Nursery Boxes, Radio Cassette Player, Chemicals and Soap.

We invite you to share in this success. It is a testimony of what students can do when appropriate support is available. Remember three years ago there was no farm in that school. Today they are the best school farm in the land at their level. CHEERS!!!



[Submitted by Leah Page] {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

Fox 13 News in Tampa Bay did a really nice piece on EarthBox Inventor Blak Whisenant including comments from The Growing Connection's Bob Patterson.

Click here to watch. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

The Global Board of Advisors convened for the second time this year at WIRED NextFest, and also we hosted an open house for Friends of The Growing Connection on Thursday, September 28. We'd like to thank everyone who stopped by, it was great to meet all of you.

Earlier this year, the TGC Board held their 4th teleconference and 1st face-to-face meeting in Washington, DC, and were personally thanked by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Dr. Jacques Diouf, for their contribution to the global fight against hunger
[Submitted by TGC] {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

New York City's International EarthBox Planting Day", which took place in Union Square Park (East 14th Street Between Broadway and University Place) on Sunday June 17th, was a rousing success!

Thank you to all the TGC students, volunteers, city officials and special guests who showed up for an exciting day of EarthBox planting demonstrations, food tastings, and much more!

{NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}

Welcome to the newest area of The Growing Connection website, which is referred to as The Garden, it's where we hope many good things will grow and we hope that you'll be a part of it. Stay tuned for much more news very soon. {NEWSSOURCE} {NEWSURL}