What is Green Share?

Green Share is an effort, an idea conceived by the members of the EcoEtsy Team at www.ecoetsy.com. It is hope – it is our promise to spread the green within our own communities all over the world.

At its most basic, Green Share is this:

The passing on and sharing of a gift of seeds and a starter planter that is given freely to classrooms, local businesses, neighbors, friends and family. The gift can be anonymous or can help show your business or organization’s committment to Eco-Friendly living.

Why Participate in Green Share?

At its core, Green Share is an effort that members of the EcoEtsy team are participating in – but we welcome you to join us!

The types of people planning to participate this year alone vary widely – from children who love the idea of bringing in Green Share seed packets & planters as gifts for their classmates on Earth Day to businesses and organizations that want to show their support of Earth Day and Green Living.

The benefits of participating are numerous:

• All the materials you need to get started are free – just download and assemble. This makes a great classroom project, or something to do with your kids for Earth Day.
• Giving within your own community helps support change at the heart of where we live. Supporting our community has nothing but positive benefits – especially when green growing things are involved!
• Businesses and organizations can gift Green Share seed packets & planters as a way to get the word out about their own efforts.

Of course, the list goes on! When you come right down to it, participating is a fun, fulfilling way to make a difference this Earth Day.

The Printable Materials

Choose between full-color designs or blank templates to get started.

Seed Packets

Blank Seed Packet Template | Full-Color Seed Packet Template | Grayscale Seed Packet Template

Gift Notes

Full-Color Gift Notes | Grayscale Gift Notes

Instructions

There really isn’t much work involved in putting the Green Share seed packets together. Here are the very basic steps to start with – expand on them, mix them up, and generally tailor them to suit your own personal style.

1. Download and Print Templates – Choose which templates you would like to use. Except for the blank seed packet templates, all of the PDF files contain fill-in fields so that you can quickly add your own text, business or organization name, etc. It’s totally customizable. You’ll want to save a copy of the PDF to your computer (right-click and choose “Save As” or “Save Target As” depending on your browser), fill in the fields with your own information, and save a copy. Then, all you need to do is print the templates out. **There is a fantastic guide to using recycled paper bags for your seed packets here. Keep the green going!
2. Cut and Glue the Templates – Cut out the seed packets just inside the thick border line. If you’re using the blank templates or want to add extra touches like sketches or watercolors to your packets, now’s the time to do it. With the printed side of your cut packets down, fold all the flaps towards the middle. Use your fingernail, the dull side of a butter knife, or a bone folder to crease the paper. Glue the large side flap over the top of the folded inward bottom flap and the opposite side flap. Press and smooth to seal, allowing them at least 3 hours for the glue to really set.
3. Add Seeds – Pour about a tablespoon of seeds (use anything you like! – go crazy with vegetable seeds that will keep giving through the summer, flower seeds to brighten your community, or anything else you like) into the open end of the seed packet. Glue the top flap down and seal well.
4. Print Gift Notes (optional) – If you would like, you can print out and trim the matching gift notes to include with your Green Share seed packets or sets.
5. Pair it Up & Gift Away! – All that’s left is to place the Green Share seed packet into a small planter and give it away in honor of Earth Day.

How to Gift?

Sometimes, it’s not the effort involved that scares us away … it’s not knowing how we can gift our work and hope. Here are some ideas:

• Arrange to volunteer 30 minutes to 1 hour in a classroom at a local school. The time will be spent teaching the children how to plant their Green Share seeds, and helping them understand how growing things keeps Earth Day going all year.
• Don’t have the time to volunteer but still want to help a classroom out? If you have a child in school, this is super easy: let them bring enough Green Share packets for their classmates and teacher to school on Earth Day. It’s a gift the kids and teachers can take home with them.
• Leave a Green Share packet on a neighbor’s porch or on a local business’s mail box. This can even be done anonymously for those of us who like to keep our gifting secret!
• Create Green Share packets for members of your family – Mom, Dad, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, Siblings … the sky’s the limit. Not only will your family be touched by the gift, but they get to think of your thoughtfulness as the gift grows.

Have more ideas? Fantastic! Share them with the rest of us by leaving a comment!

Resources

Not sure where to get the seeds and planters? Here’s a selection of sites that have real quality organic seeds and bio-degradable planters.

• Tiny Seeds
  
• Territorial Seed Company
• Organica Seed
• Seeds of Change
• enviroarc
• Eco Forms

Important: As Earth Day approaches, so does a whole new bag of worms in our government. Check out this post on Criminalizing Organic & Home Growers, and speak out to your state representatives in opposition of this idiotic bill.

EcoEtsy Green Share Participants

Members of the EcoEtsy team who have committed to doing their part in the Green Share effort include:

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Are you participating in Green Share? Leave a comment and tell us all about what you’re doing! Have photos of your hard work or people enjoying the gift? Send them along to be included on this page!

These great photos were shared by LakeEerieBeachGlass and blogged on the Etsy Trashion team site:

An absolutely stunning picture from Green Springs, who shared the packets at her local Grower’s Market. She said that the 50 packets she brought were snagged right away – other vendors and customers were sending people to her booth for them! Huge congrats on your success, Green Springs and thank you for being such a great part of this effort