Note: This article was sent to us by Ralph Ash, PrintED instructor at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua, Ohio. Keep up the good work Ralph!

Digital Design and Print Technologies Level ll students worked with Level ll Environmental Occupations students planting trees acquired through the Shelby County Soil and Water Conservancy. Planting and caring for trees is an everyday activity for the EO students. On the other hand, the DDPT students work daily with one of trees primary products – paper. Ralph Ash, DDPT level ll instructor, makes sure his students understand the value of reforestation and agrees with Paul Foster, of "Print Grows Trees" educational campaign, that print is the green option when compared to digital correspondence, bill paying, and banking. "All the electronic devices required to view non-paper correspondence and records use electricity which is fueled by non-renewable resources," he says.

The DDPT students are counting on careers in an industry which continues to adapt in a digital age. According to those involved with the Print Grows Trees campaign, the American jobs lost to e-publishing impacts industries beyond the press operators and papers mills. The DDPT students spread the "Print Grows Trees" message by silk screening campaign artwork on T-shirts shared with their EO counterparts. Both groups were undaunted by the mud and chill as they worked together to plant 50 trees in Willowbrook preserve on Thursday, April 24.

Ash hopes to expand the partnership with the EO program and his students' involvement with Print Grows Trees. He says, "Printing jobs haven't been outsourced and aren't going away. This is a solid career path with long-term potential."

Kenny Lear, a student at the Center for Applied Technology North in Anne Arundel County, was the top finisher at the 2013 Maryland SkillsUSA Graphic Communications Competition, which took place last Saturday, April 20th, at PGAMA member firm Printing Specialist. Kenny out-performed nine other students from around the state, earning the Gold Medal and an Apple iPad 3 for his efforts. His classmate Krystal Carpintieri was the second place finisher. Shelly Ryan, from the Carroll County Career & Technology Center, finished third.

The first and second place finishers are both students of Michael Born, and 2013 marks the second consecutive year that his students have earned the top two titles. He will accompany Kenny to the SkillsUSA national graphic communications competition taking place in Kansas City, MO this June. Other competitors this year were Allison Shinsky (Carroll County Career & Technology Center, Instructor David Hutchison), Chandler Kerr (Center for Applied Technology North); Jessica Morral and Devon DeVault (Allegheny County Center for Career & Technology Education, Instructor Larry Negley); Ben Schurch (Frederick County Career & Technology Center, Instructor John Augustine); and Anjelica Cusic and Nicolaas Kinser (Calvert County Career & Technology Academy, Instructor Scott Owens.)