Saturday was an amazingly beautiful day in Carrollton, with cool breezes and brilliant sunshine ? a perfect day to bash some trash. Keep Carrollton Beautiful was at it again, making sure that their almost 250 volunteers knew they weren?t just working in their community, but also in the American community. Trinity River Trash Bash was held in conjunction with Nation Public Lands Day and Service Nation, this year, tying their accomplishments to thousands of projects happening all over the United States. Since it?s also a regional event, they were cleaning the Trinity River with many other communities in North Texas.

Partnering with Dallas Down River, the Carrollton Evening Lions Club, Scouts of all ages and genders, and many high school service organizations, Keep Carrollton Beautiful is able to provide a lot of service to the community. In-kind donors including Trinity River Expedition, High Trails Canoe Rental, Albertsons, Cadbury Schweppes, Kroger, and Frito-Lay made it possible to accommodate so many volunteers. The City of Carrollton?s Athletes Dept. also disposed of the almost 3,300 pounds of trash they collected in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River and throughout McInnish Sports Complex.

Dallas Down River had a really difficult time getting enough canoes this year due to many liveries going out of business. They came through as usual with canoes and plenty of cold watermelon for dessert. And they made it possible for Girl Scout Troop 227 to get their canoeing badges. Be sure and come to their race on October 11.

The Carrollton Evening Lions Club has been partnering with Keep Carrollton Beautiful since 2005, cooking all the hot dogs for their volunteers. ?Orchestrating these events would not be possible without the kind, ever faithful presence and energy of the Carrollton Evening Lions Club. They not only do our events, but make it possible to have free eye clinics all over the area – giving low-income children opportunities to get their sight tested and receive free glasses,? said Sharon Goddard.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Board of Directors members Diane Taheri with husband Mehdi and Cathy Henesey and Boy Scout Troop 787 really saved the day by showing up early to set up the base camp and staying to pack everything up again. An event this large requires a lot of hands and they pitched right in wherever anything needed to be done. They are perfect examples of the kind of people we all can be in our communities.

Gushy, yucky trash floating along the river or stuck in the muddy banks starts out on the street, playing field or golf course – making its way in stormwater down to the river. Since the Trinity is our drinking water, everyone in the watershed needs to be conscious of what they throw down and even what they put on their yards. All the trash eventually makes its way into our rivers and of course then the ocean – if it?s not collected by groups like Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

?I believe we are part of a bigger solution, where all citizens will do their part to be the best of America?, said Sharon Goddard, Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.

Since 2004, we have held 49 public events utilizing 5,400 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton?s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.

Sharon is a third generation Carrolltonite who has spent the last five years creating community in Carrollton. She believes:

?America is in a crisis. We’re in a very Un-American jam. We are doing a very poor job educating all our children; the drop-out rate is very high — with the weather changing in much of the world to flood and/or drought; the devastation of global warming is getting clearer — the unemployment rate is raising the numbers of “working poor”.

All the change we need is in the average citizens’ hands. Historically, citizen leadership is the only way anything in America has ever changed. Everyone needs to do their part at home and at work. It’s up to all of us to be the best of America.?

Op. Ed. by Sharon Goddard

I believe our neighborhoods are the answer to all our environmental problems.? We know our neighborhoods, even if we don?t know the individuals.? We know where the litter collects; we even know who?s recycling; and we know which neighbors need help with their property.? Our neighborhoods are a great place to start practicing sustainability.

Neighborhoods are also perfect opportunities to share information.? We can share resources about energy audits; share solutions to ?greening? our homes; and share how we stopped loosing money by changing to compact fluorescents lightbulbs.? For hundreds of years ? right where you are ? neighbors have been sharing composting materials, plants, and ways to control weeds without pesticides.? ?Our neighbors are a great opportunity to teach others what we know.? There is a synergistic effect that occurs when even one of us moves toward sustainable ways of being. ?Quoting from www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org/, ?As we become stable within ourselves, we become a stabilizing source for others, thus bringing peace to the often-chaotic forms of change?.

Like Margaret Mead said ?Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” Just three women – Susan Campbell, Cindy Baxley and Martha Grizzel – coming together to say ?Enough!?? The Whitlock Warriors, begun during the Great American Cleanup this year, have turned their neighborhood around.? In only 5 months they have coordinated two cleanups, a garage sale, and a crime watch meeting attended by 85 of their residents.? They?re planning a community garden where all ethnicities will come together bettering their neighborhood and in doing so, becoming friends.

To solve problems like the environmental issues plaguing us all takes more than individual action – it takes community action. Many communities these days find themselves under extraordinary stress. ?Even for affluent communities – taking care of one another, educating our kids, caring for the ill, helping people who need a hand – is proving difficult.? As www.worldchanging.com/community/ puts it ?Communities of all kinds need to work together, thinking about the problems they face in a holistic way and working to strengthen the fabric that binds us together.?

?Communities have to demonstrate their ability to address serious challenges with innovative, grassroots strategies that promote civic engagement and cooperation between the public, private and nonprofit sectors. ?In cases where residents provide hands-on care, they help create a sense of community pride? author Shirley Sagawa in her book Common Interest Common Good.
Constructive and innovative partnerships between different interests often provide significant progress toward creating sustainability. ??Partnerships may form around specific issues or areas of concern.? ?”These communities really give us hope,” said National Civic League President Gloria Rubio-Cort?s, “because they show others what can happen when people roll up their sleeves and work together.”

Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s website www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org has great information about composting as well as about gatherings with others interested in neighborhoods. ??Also, the City of Carrollton?s website www.cityofcarrollton.com/development/community/resources.asp has some great tools for creating community in our neighborhoods.

There are hundreds of websites about sustainable communities that give you a good place to begin: Co-op America Quarterly www.coopamerica.org/; Communities Magazine www.communities.ic.org/; Bountiful Gardens www.bountifulgardens.org/; Organic Gardening www.organicgardening.com/; Permaculture Activist www.permacultureactivist.net/; Mother Earth News www.motherearthnews.com/; ?Small Farm Today www.smallfarmtoday.com/; ?World Watch www.worldwatch.org/pubs/; and Solar Today www.solartoday.org/links.htm. Go choose an idea that fits into your life.

The birds and animals are also our neighbors.? ?I have chosen to create a Backyard Wildlife Habitat where many birds of all kinds come for shelter.? If we all made a small space for them in our yards ? providing shelter for nests, food and water ? they would have migration corridors and not be pushed out.? Recently a large hawk, maybe 18 inches tall, brought it?s prey to comfortably have dinner in my yard ? feeling right at home. ??These ?saved? green spaces marry with our parks to create vibrant corridors and gardens throughout our community, bringing urban neighbors together and creating a higher quality of life throughout the city.
According to the Northwest Earth Institute discussion group I?m attending, we can start forging friendlier neighborhoods by making simple contacts, making ourselves accessible out working in our garden; by using our neighbors as a resource for expertise, baby-sitting or buying in bulk; and by helping those we know need a hand or a casserole.? We can all be part of putting-back-the-juice into our communities.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.

Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton?s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community. Sharon is a third generation Carrolltonite who has spent the last five years creating community in Carrollton.