Eco-actress Emmanuelle Chriqui is behind a not-so-evil plot to get children to eat their carrots. And broccoli. And green beans.

Chriqui and other environmentally-friendly actresses including Amy Smart, Olivia Wilde and Rosario Dawson will be among those judging the “Yes to Carrots Garden Challenge” which runs through May 12: Public school children in grades K through 8 have the chance to win $5,000 in gardening supplies for their school. All they have to do is make a short video explaining why their school deserves it. The most creative video will win.

“If you plant a garden, you’re inclined to eat better,” Chriqui said. Although she’s too busy playing Sloan on HBO’s “Entourage” and other projects to have her own garden, Chriqui looks forward to settling down in a home with room for a veggie patch. Until then, she has fond memories of being a little girl and trotting out into the backyard for a handful of fresh mint when her mom was make a pitcher of lemonade. She said she knows first-hand that making that connection — between growing your own food, and how much fun it can be — can help kids choose healthful food over junk food. “Doesn’t it sound so much less boring to say, ‘Let’s go pick an apple off a tree and eat it’? ”

Chriqui is spearheading the challenge on behalf of the organic hair-and-skin-care line Yes to Carrots and the Environmental Media Assn.’s Young Hollywood Board. Challenge details: Schools may enter the contest by uploading a short video on the Yes to Carrots Garden Challenge website on or before May 12, 2010, expressing why they think a garden would be a positive addition to the school. The school should have a preexisting commitment to gardening, an internal champion for the project, and it must be a public school, grades ranging K-8.

From the Los Angeles Times