At Briscoe Elementary School in Fort Worth, students are learning the importance of protecting the environment.

"Today we are learning to help the environment," said Broshayla Mosely, 4th grader.

They are also learning about how important it is to volunteer and give their time back to their community to help others.

All over the world, NBCU & GE volunteers are getting together to make a difference this week.

In Los Angeles, employees returned to Griffith Park on Earth Day to plant trees and clear weeds and brush. Ron Meyer, President and COO of Universal Pictures, announced a long-term commitment to support a specific canyon in the park, in partnership with the NBCU Foundation grant organization, Los Angeles Conversation Corps (LACC), and the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks. NBCU will be responsible for providing service to the area at least twice each calendar year.

Just in time for spring and straight to your iPhone Green is Universal is proud to present our latest digital application (and first iPhone application): iBloom.

With iBloom, you can virtually plant a seed and watch it grow. You'll water, feed and protect your seedling from pollution to grow your sprout into a happy flower and make it to the next level.

An added Earth Week bonus: Green is Universal will be donating 10,000 trees to local parks and schools throughout the U.S. in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.

Download iBloom now at

It's our pleasure to announce the launch of the national "Green Your School" contest, funded by NBC Universal Foundation and in connection with Green is Universal.

If you're a high school student in the U.S., submit your school's best green-related project for a chance to win a $5,000 grand prize.

The contest is awarding prizes for conservation service projects designed by high school students that improve, restore, beautify and/or conserve their school's environment. Project examples include transforming a school parking lot or yard into a community garden, implementing a recycling or compost program in the school cafeteria, using reusable and recyclable products on campus or establishing a system to reduce water and power usage.

A panel of qualified judges, including NBC News' Anne Thompson and environmentalist Simran Sethi, will award a Grand Prize winner with $5,000 and two First Prize winners with $2,500 each.

The "Green Your School" contest runs from April 1, 2009 until 11:59 p.m. EST on October 9. Entries may be submitted online by visiting www.thesca.org/green-your-school or a registration form may be requested by mail and sent back to SCA headquarters at 689 River Road, P.O. Box 550, Charlestown, New Hampshire 03603. Winning schools will be notified by email, phone or mail by mid-November, 2009.

If you can't tune in to all our green programming this week, get some green power from your mobile phone and help protect Mother Earth. Sign up for Green Is Universal's Mobile Green Alerts. It's simple, efficient, and a great way to stay green while on the go! It also helps you stay connected to greenisuniversal.com.

Sign up for Green Is Universal's Green Alerts and receive text messages with tips on how you can do your part for the environment. From changing a light bulb to recycling old clothes, these tips make it easier to give back to the planet no matter where you are. Living green has never been so easy!

To sign up, text GREENU to 46833 with your mobile phone. Standard Text Messaging Rates Apply.

*To STOP your alerts, reply STOP to one of our messages.

As I'm going through all of the amazing green routines people have sent us, I see a few questions that keep popping up.  A big one is about stopping junk mail and catalogs.

To reduce the sometimes overwhelming amount of junk mail you receive, the nifty site greendimes.org can solve most of your problems.  A basic, free membership will provide you all the tools you need to stop most junk mail.  If you need to send written statements to some companies, Green Dimes will even send you the pre-written card, so all you have to do is sign and send!  It couldn't be easier.

Now, the reason I say most junk mail, is because another big portion of mail that I'm seeing email questions about stopping is credit card offers - something that Green Dimes claims they can't reduce.  So I found this site from the Federal Trade Commission, that explains exactly how to opt-out of pre-screened offers of credit and insurance - hallelujah!