Miss Earth Maryland Volunteers at Montgomery County GreenFest 2015

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I am doing well, thanks to the Almighty. On March 28th, I served as a volunteer at the inaugural Montgomery County GreenFest. This event was a one-day festival focused on the people and environment of Montgomery County, Maryland! Being a resident and a proud graduate of Montgomery County Public Schools, as well as Maryland's earth warrior, I was very excited for the purpose of this event. Although it was a very cold day, I was happy to see so many people in attendance and making this event successful.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Montgomery County Executive Isaiah Leggett and Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Montgomery Parks, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, and 11 nonprofit and governmental partners served as hosts for the GreenFest. The event was held at Jesup Blair Local Park and Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus. The festival featured educational, entertaining and family-friendly activities, exhibits and workshops suitable for all ages. Several documentaries were also shown, in commemoration of the Environmental Film Festival that was going on in our nation's capital this weekend. Montgomery County's Executive Mr. Isaiah Leggett gave the welcome remarks at the event.

Just Tree-ling
Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Interview with Montgomery County Television
Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Interview with Montgomery County Television
Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

The Montgomery County GreenFest was formed by the merging of the Silver Spring GreenFest and the H2O Summit, two established green festivals. Both festivals were targeted to specific audiences within the County. H2O Summit was focused on water related issues, specifically educating on the problems of stormwater and pollution. The Silver Spring GreenFest was an environmental celebration hosted by Silver Spring Green. By combining the two events together, the Montgomery County GreenFest was focused County-wide on all types of environmental issues, including water, waste reduction, energy and community engagement.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Besides getting to chat with the many Eco-friendly organizations and earth-loving people, I liked how the festival exhibited environmental principles in the planning and execution of the day. Some ways they put the Green in GreenFest include: instead of handing out printed scheduled to everyone, they uploaded the full schedule of activities that attendees can view online while at the event; the City of Takoma Park is sponsored a shuttle from the Takoma Metro stop directly to the GreenFest, and encouraged people to walk, bike, skate or bus their way to the GreenFest rather than drive; also, the City of Takoma Park also brought trash, recycling and compost bins to minimize waste. My shift started with being placed next to one of the waste stations to show attendees what goes where.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Maryland Earth Fact: 

In 2007, Forbes.com rated Maryland as the fifth "Greenest" state in the United States.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Help me compete at Miss Earth United States 2015. DONATE HERE

Miss Earth Maryland Commemorates Autism Awareness Month

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I am doing well, thanks be to God! Over the past years, the month of April has been used to raise awareness and create dialogue about autism spectrum disorder.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
Wearing Sera Vero Nik by Fruwah Boma Chapman
Photo by Life Depicted Productions

Fact: Autism is a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first two-and-a-half years of life. Most children with autism are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of neurotypical children. Less severe cases may be diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) or with Asperger's Syndrome (these children typically have normal speech, but they have many "autistic" social and behavioral problems). World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated on April 2nd. It's also a day that it is encouraged to light up the world blue, as well as wear something blue. Read a blog post I wrote some years back of why I have made autism awareness a life-long personal platform of mine here.

AUTISM: Together We Can Solve The Puzzle

Read about my motivation for this cause.

Read about women and autism.

Read more about autism.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Help me compete at Miss Earth United States 2015. DONATE HERE

Miss Earth Maryland Commemorates Earth Month 2015

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I've been busy and blessed, thanks to the Almighty. So as some of you may know, the month of April commemorates Earth Month! This month is also referred to as Environmental Awareness Month. As a woman of the Earth, and the Free State's Miss Earth, I am proud to celebrate this awesome month!

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
Photo by Ros Productions

Earth Day is April 22nd! Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as I share earth facts throughout this month in my segment of Thank You, Mother Earth!

April is Earth Month

Earth Fact of the Day: Recycling is a process to change waste materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal. Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" waste hierarchy. Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. The composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste (food or garden waste) is also considered recycling.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
"I protect the environment by...RECYCLING!"
Photo taken at Montgomery County's (MD) GreenFest

Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. William Alexander

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
Photo by Ros Productions

EVERY MONTH IS EARTH MONTH!

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Help me compete at Miss Earth United States 2015. DONATE HERE

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Attends Gift of Wells' March Happy Hour Fundraiser

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing well, thanks be to God! This past Friday, I attended Gift of Wells' Happy Hour Fundraiser hosted at SIP Lounge in our nation's capital, District of Columbia. The purpose of this event was to party for an awesome cause with artists giving back through their talents.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Gift Of Wells, with the motto of lending a helping hand one water well at a time, is: a non-profit organization whose aim is to build water wells in Sierra Leone, thereby providing safe and sanitary water to the people of Sierra Leone. I serve as the Media Magician for this awesome organization, and so proud of its mission and vision for health and sanitation in my native country, Sierra Leone.

Reggae artist Kha Benneh 'JayArr' Bangura (GOW Founder) and Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson (GOW Media Magician)

Gift of Wells Executive Board
Dennis Bundu (Events Expert), Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson (Media Magician), and Kha Benneh Bangura (Founder)

Rapper/Producer Dennis 'Menace Da General' Bundu and Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson

Overall, it was a great event with performances by JayArr and legendary Sierra Leonean artist Lady Felicia, who performed some of my favorite songs and of course I had to join her on the dance floor. Special thanks to Keepeekee, Inc. for providing items for the auction. It was a night full of wonderful people and great entertainment. Stay tuned for our upcoming programs, including the 5K Run. we are still accepting donations here.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015
Gift of Wells Media Magician
When You Believe Foundation, Inc. Founder/CEO
Ruby B. Johnson

March 22 is World Water Day, and the 2015 theme is Water and Sustainable Development. It’s about how water links to all areas we need to consider to create the future we want. Water is life.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Help me compete at Miss Earth United States 2015. DONATE HERE

Miss Earth Maryland Celebrates International Day of Forests 2015

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing fantastic, thanks be to God! On March 21, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/67/200, which declared that March 21st of each year is to be observed as the International Day of Forests. The purpose of this Day is to raise awareness on the importance of forests to people. Forests shelter, nurture and inspire. 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicine, fuel and food. Forests cover 31% of global land area.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
Woman of the Earth

The International Day provides a platform to communicate the vital role forests play in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security. Forests remain an essential factor to our socio-economic system. They are the essence of our lives. They protect us as we grow, clean the air we breathe, purify the water we drink and provide us with food and health we need. Forests are also the primary habitat for billions of plants and animals.

FORESTS: Life's Beauty

How you can save paper and help the forests.

Sources:
United Nations
Earth Day Network

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Help me compete at Miss Earth United States 2015. DONATE HERE

Help Miss Earth Maryland Compete at Miss Earth United States 2015 Pageant

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing well, thanks be to God! In the past month, I have been blessed with the honor of serving as Maryland's Miss Earth 2015. The next step is Miss Earth United States, the national pageant. I will like to have the opportunity to continue what I am doing in my state with my Beauties for a Cause project throughout our nation as Miss Earth United States, but I need financial assistance to achieve my goal to get that title. With your monetary assistance, you will lighten my financial burden which allows me to focus more on preparation for the pageant this Summer in Los Angeles, California. Please visit my GoFundMe account and donate as low as $10. The total amount will go towards my expenses leading to and at the national pageant July 24-26 in Los Angeles, California. Your help will be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance. Please donate.

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Ruby B. Johnson
Photo by Ros Productions

PLEASE DONATE

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility

Miss Earth Maryland 2015 Featured on Frederick News-Post Newspaper

Gree(n)tings everyone!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm blessed, thanks to the Almighty! I was recently featured in the Environment section of Frederick County's own Frederick News-Post newspaper. Get to know more about me, and read the article in this link.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Earth Maryland 2015

Continuing the legacy of beauty and responsibility