Color her green - local student helps Crayola go solar

You know school's just around the corner when crayon manufacturers start sending you press releases. Green beanies off to Katie Gerczynski, a 2nd-grader from Glen Burnie, who was chosen by Crayola to be part of its "Green Team," seen above.

Katie and nine others were tapped from among all the kids who entered Crayola's "How I Dream in Green" coloring contest last spring. Entrants were asked to draw their vision for making their homes, schools or communities greener.  Her offering was called "How I Can Make the Earth Smile."

The crayon maker honored Katie and the other kids this week by summoning them to its Easton, PA headquarters, where they were on hand for a dedication of the company's new 15-acre solar array. Crayola says the 26,000 panels should provide enough power to make 1 billion of the 3 billion crayons it produces annually. What about when the sun's not shining? Color me blue then.

(Photo courtesy Crayola)