A family in Wells is leaving footprints across the region, and hopes to soon see their footprints on cars across the country.

What started out as a school project to raise environmental awareness has turned into a business for the Emmons family, who created the "Greenfoot" car magnet.

The green magnet in the shape of a foot, which has the phrase "Keep it Green" across the top, is meant to remind people of their carbon footprint and encourage everyone to live a "green" life.

David Emmons and his wife Janet helped their three children, Maxson, 18, Katie, 13, and Abbie, 10, with the project that is made mostly out of local, recycled products.

"It started out as a science lesson for the two home-schooled girls last July and over time turned into a lesson on responsibility, community and working together to make a change," David Emmons said.

"We were working on how we impact our environment," Janet Emmons said, "and we started seeing how if we each just change a little bit then we could impact the world."

As a school project that applied hands-on practical application, the girls were asked to think of a way to raise awareness on the impacts an individual's lifestyle can have on the environment and to let people know how easy it can be to reduce a person's carbon footprint. After considering billboards and other ideas, the family decided to work together on creating car magnets.

"We all figured it would be something you could see all the time," Janet Emmons said.

After days of sketching designs turned into weeks of tweaking one, Maxson perfected it on the computer and the family contacted local businesses to help create, trademark, distribute and sell the magnets.

With the help of a print shop in Poultney to print the package the magnet is sold with and a Hubbardton woodworker and blacksmith to make displays out of recycled products, the children were able to watch every step of the process.

"They've seen this from the idea and sketch on the piece of paper right down to the finished thing," their father said.

Through the process the family incorporated school and life lessons in art, marketing, advertising and much more, but what the family learned most was the importance of living green and the impact individuals can have on the world.

"I learned that doing little things in your daily life, little things like recycling and turning off lights when you leave a room, can really help," Katie said.

"I've always tried to recycle … but now I really think about things like 'I should probably turn this off,'" she said. "I'm definitely more aware of it now."

Maxson said he learned a lot from the experience including the importance of recycling and conserving electricity, water and paper products.

He also said he learned the effect anyone, including families in small-town Vermont, can accomplish.

The lessons learned were exactly what their mother said she had hoped for at the beginning of the project, even though she had doubts that it would actually make it on to store shelves.

"The main thing I wanted them to learn is that they can make a difference. So many times people feel powerless in the world and I think they learned that everybody can affect the world," she said.

Since hitting store shelves in April, the "Greenfoot" magnets' popularity is growing. The family spotted one last week on a vehicle in Poultney and another in Wells, David Emmons said. Although he said it was exciting to see magnets on what he calls "vehicles of awareness," his goal is to have one on every vehicle in America.

Along with the magnets, the family has also constructed a Web site at www.gogreenfoot.com that allows people to share what they are doing to live a "green" life, get tips on what they can do to help and learn more about the project.

Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .