As the month that represents Earth Day on the 22nd and Arbor Day on the 25th, it’s entirely fitting that April has been designated Keep America Beautiful Month! A proud affiliate of Keep America Beautiful (KAB) at the local level, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful often adopts (and sometimes even inspires) many of the practices and campaigns that this environmentally-focused organization promotes all across the nation. We understand that one of the best ways we can “keep America beautiful” is by starting with our own little corner of the world. In order to create a greener, cleaner and more livable Gwinnett – we need to work together, from individuals and small business owners to local governments and large corporations. While we encourage Gwinnettians to take an active role in environmental stewardship year-round, we believe Keep America Beautiful Month is the ideal time to play a key part in making our community one of the most beautiful places to live, work and play.
Here are just a few ways that YOU can celebrate Keep America Beautiful Month right here in Gwinnett:
1) Take the Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge: Launched by Keep America Beautiful in 1999, the Great American Cleanup™ represents the nation’s largest annual community improvement program. Designed to enlist the involvement of volunteers from all walks of life, everyone from youth groups and high school green teams to local business, church, homeowner and civic organizations can join together to clean-up, fix-up, paint-up, and green-up in a combined effort to keep their community beautiful. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is currently seeking aspiring environmental stewards to take the challenge here in Gwinnett. If you know of a stream, park or stretch of roadway that could benefit from a group of volunteers picking up litter, or a neighborhood that would be more beautiful with the help of a flower, shrub and tree-planting party – we would love for you to take part in the Challenge. For a list of other simple ways you can take part in the Great American Cleanup, CLICK HERE! If you are unable to complete your task by the end of April, that’s okay – the Challenge runs through May 31, 2014!
2) Take the Pledge: Positive change begins one step at a time. As part of the Great American Cleanup, we are asking people all over the county to Take the Pledge to become an environmental steward… caring for the land, water and community every day. It means that you pledge to “live green” by changing your habits and practices at home, school, work and play – not just during Keep America Beautiful Month and the Great American Cleanup, but year-round.
3) Celebrate Earth Day on April 22: Launched in 1970, Earth Day – the largest and most celebrated environmental event worldwide – is the ideal day to sit down as a family and/or company and talk about ways to become better environmental stewards – recycling more, creating less waste, using less electricity and water, carpooling to work or school, using environmentally friendly cleaners, etc… It’s also a terrific occasion to explore some of our county’s amazing parks and natural attractions – since they play a major part in what Earth Day is all about. Have fun, but consider bringing a bag with you to pick up any litter along the way. Other activities could include making nature crafts like a bird or squirrel feeder with the kids, fashioning works of art from repurposed materials, donate clothes and household items you no longer need, do yardwork for an elderly or ill neighbor, and so much more. If you plan ahead, you can add your Earth Day activities towards your goal on the Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge!
4) Celebrate GCB’s NEW! Put Litter in its Place Day on April 26: In the event that you took part in any Easter Egg Hunts the Sunday prior to this new Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful observance, you should be all primed and ready to make a real difference on our new Put Litter in its Place Day on Saturday, April 26. Spend the morning picking up trash at your favorite park, then play the rest of the day away. Take a leisurely stroll through your neighborhood and pick up litter along the way. Gather some friends or co-workers to form a Put Litter in its Place party in order to remove cigarette butts, aluminum cans (take time to separate the recyclable items from the rest of the litter) and other garbage along a stretch of road near your home or office (then take it one important step further by Adopting-A-Road to keep clean all year round.) By the way, it just so happens that many of the suggestions we’ve made for Put Litter in its Place Day are also on the list of activities for the Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge! That’s two birds with one stone!
5) Make a Donation to Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful: In the event that you are unable to take part in the Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge, Earth Day 2014, Arbor Day 2014 or Keep America Beautiful Month by volunteering to be an environmental steward, you can still play a very important role by making a donation to Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. Because we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, all donations are tax-deductible. Monetary contributions are equally important to the success of our efforts, as 100% of the proceeds support our programs – which include education and implementation of eco-focused events.
HAPPY KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL MONTH!
~ FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT GWINNETT CLEAN & BEAUTIFUL
