Did you know that January is National Hobby Month? While hobbies like arts and crafts, reading books, mastering new recipes, and perfecting some hardcore yoga poses are all admirable, wouldn’t you like to pursue a hobby that has a ripple effect on the world around you? The environment offers many ways to pursue a hobby while impacting your local community. Your friends at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful have culled that list down to six of our favorites…
Register for Year-Round Programs like Adopt-A-Road or Adopt-A-Stream:
Both Adopt-A-Road and Adopt-A-Stream are impactful programs facilitated by Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. With Adopt-A-Road, you can “adopt” a section of road to clean up at regular intervals during the year. Ideal for civic groups, schools, churches, companies, neighborhoods, and other organizations, it’s an excellent litter prevention initiative that enables citizens to show their pride in Gwinnett and safely reduce the amount of unsightly trash and illegal signage alongside county roadways. In addition to being a great team-building exercise and an excellent way to beautify the community, Adopt-A-Road provides an opportunity for your group or company to be recognized for your civic engagement. Shortly following your second cleanup, each adopted section of the road will be marked with two signs showcasing your group’s name as thanks for your participation. View our interactive map and adopt your section of road today!
With Adopt-A-Stream, you “adopt” a local waterway, attend workshops to gain chemical and bacterial testing certifications, and then regularly test the water quality. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources provide training, supplies, and certifications. The baseline water quality data you collect will strengthen our awareness of the conditions of our local streams, including pollution and water quality issues. Unfortunately, many streams in Gwinnett do not currently meet established state water quality standards. That’s why we need your help! Learn more about how to Adopt-A-Stream.
Participate in Annual GC&B Events as an Attendee or Volunteer:
Each year, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and our partners host several annual events – including Bring One for the Chipper, two Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days, Earth Day, Great Gwinnett Wetlands, and America Recycles Day. We need YOU – either as a participant or as a volunteer – to make these events a SUCCESS! For instance, if we’re hosting a community recycling event, we’ll need neighbors to drop off items to be recycled AND volunteers to haul those items from attendee’s cars to their specified stations. BOTH ROLES are helpful to our cause of making Gwinnett the greenest, cleanest, most livable community possible. Be sure to bookmark our Event Calendar to stay on top of upcoming events.
Encourage your Child’s School to Become a Green & Healthy School
Check with your child’s school to see if it’s a Green & Healthy School. If it is, learn ways you can support their efforts. They may have Plant-it-Forward gardens to which you can donate supplies and volunteers for planting/weeding. They may have Food Waste Warriors and/or Compost Connectors, where you can volunteer your time and talents or donate items to support their efforts. If your child’s school is not yet a part of our growing Green & Healthy Schools network, consider becoming an advocate for them to join. This joint initiative of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Public Schools is good for the planet and the students, too! It provides integrated environmental education, incorporating applications of Science AKS, problem-solving, civic skills, and green career pathways. Learn more about the Green & Healthy Schools Program and its many benefits!
Go Green at Home and Work
Schools aside, not all households and workplaces have adopted green practices like recycling, composting, energy efficiency, etc. Our Green Living At Home page provides a few suggestions along with some helpful dos and don’ts. Our Green Living At Work page also offers excellent GREEN advice. If you’re not a leadership team member who can implement these measures, don’t be afraid to share this link with them to encourage your company to become more eco-friendly.
Beautify Your Corner of the World
Gardening is a terrific hobby and one fantastic way to beautify your corner of the world. While you may focus the lion’s share of your attention on your front and back yards, don’t be afraid to shift your scope to include your neighborhood as a whole. In addition to the opportunity to maintain your neighborhood’s flowerbeds near the monument, amenity areas, and green spaces throughout the neighborhood (unless your HOA pays for a lawn maintenance crew), you can get in the habit of bringing a bag with you on daily strolls to pick up any litter you see along the way. If you REALLY want to go green with this new hobby, bring two bags – one for litter and the other for recycling.
Kick Off Your Philanthropic Hobby with a Donation to Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful
If one of your desired hobbies is to become more philanthropic, what better way to give back than to the community where you live? Each donation to Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful helps further our mission of Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett. And, as a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, those donations are tax-deductible. If you’d like to expand your scope beyond you as an individual, we are also proud to offer Corporate Sponsorships. Learn more and make a tax-deductible donation TODAY!
From all of us here at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, we wish you a Beautiful January and a Happy New Year!!
