Carrollton, Texas ?

Keep Carrollton Beautiful is contributing to our community in a BIG way. At a recent City Council meeting, the Mayor accepted two large illustrations of Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s support. The checks, made to represent the contributions of Keep Carrollton Beautiful to the community of Carrollton in the last 12 months, proved to be a very good way to demonstrate their assistance.

In the previous twelve months, Keep Carrollton Beautiful has provided 11,948 hours from 2,962 individual volunteers – recruited to make the community more environmentally conscious, more beautiful and more neighborly. In that same time period, they have also donated $52,657.99 worth of in-kind products and services – acquired to support community events, public environmental education and refurbishment of City facilities.

Since the budget was on the Council?s agenda, Sharon Goddard was on hand to present the checks to the Mayor. The checks symbolize a lot of hard work on the part of Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Board of Directors: Secretary Cindy Baxley, Amy Diaz, Vice-Chair Paul Duddleston, Chair Cathy Henesey, Special Events Doug Hinton, Brenda Lalonde and Treasurer Diane Taheri. The Board and the myriad of volunteers all have one goal in mind ? to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment. They are doing an amazing job!

To find out about all Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s programs and projects, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and click around. You will probably find something you want to plug-in to. If you?d like to help the schools, be sure and add your paper to be recycled to their green and yellow bins. Alll that paper doesn?t end up in the landfill and the schools get money for your efforts

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.

On Saturday April 4, it was a beautiful day and Keep Carrollton Beautiful volunteers made sure our streets, parks, greenbelts, streams and lakes are even more beautiful now! Spending their own free time in community service, 270 volunteers collected 9,740 pounds of litter and debris from 34 sites in Carrollton. ?We had individual volunteers and scouts and schools and churches and neighborhoods this year. They focused their amazing ?can do? attitudes to plan, set up, collect trash and break down our event. We could do nothing without their beautiful spirits.? said Sharon Goddard.

The Don?t Mess With Texas Trash-Off event was a grassroots partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation – with 340 affiliates cleaning all over Texas. All of America should be looking pretty good today!

Locally, the Trash-Off was Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s sixth annual participation. The event is just one of many activities they host or empower during the three month Great American Cleanup. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is working with many schools, neighborhoods and corporate teams to supply smaller events during this time.

Thanks to Albertsons at Josey and Keller Springs and at Old Denton and Hebron the volunteers didn?t go away hungry. Albertsons thinks that ?it?s important to be good neighbors and give back to our communities?..to improve all of our lives?. As a great corporate citizen, they have supported Keep Carrollton Beautiful since its inception in 2004. ?I hope that the citizens of Carrollton won?t let this valuable asset get pushed out of our community by stiff competition? said the director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group?s representative, Bill Kirkland, has also been supporting Keep Carrollton Beautiful since its beginning. ?We (DPSG) have a proud, longstanding heritage of caring … for our consumers, our customers, our employees and our neighbors in the communities where we live and do business across the United States? caring is at the heart of our business, shaping our values and the importance we place on corporate social responsibility?? Dr. Pepper really helped out at the Trash-Off making sure none of the hard working volunteers went thirsty.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful could never accommodate so many volunteers without the loyal and enthusiastic support of the Carrollton Evening Lions Club. These Lions are some of the community?s most steadfast local servants. Their website says ?When it comes to meeting challenges, our response is simple: We serve?in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and in eyeglass recycling centers, Lions are at work, helping, leading, planning and supporting?We want everyone to see a better tomorrow?we support vision screenings, eye banks and eyeglass recycling?We believe everyone deserves a healthy life?providing health programs for hearing loss, diabetes prevention and improving the health of children and adults around the world.? ?Our Carrollton Evening Lions Club lovingly cooks the best hot dogs in Texas! And always with a smile.? said Sharon Goddard.

Thanks to the many volunteers, this year?s Trash-Off was a roaring success. The people involved know who they are and are very much appreciated. If you?d like to help Keep Carrollton Beautiful, go to their website www.KeepCaroolltonBeautiful.org and join.

Another fun way you can help is by bidding on their Don?t Mess With Texas Trash-Off On-Line Auction. The auction will raise funds for their programs and you can still bid through April 8.

Halliburton is always a great team of workers. Great supervisors too!	Good job Creekview Spanish Club!	Mehdi Dhanjy and the Hebron Key Club are a great crew!

Last Saturday Feb. 23rd, in the very cold wind, almost 400 volunteers came together for Carrollton Cares Volunteer Day to make Carrollton a better place to play. The Elm Fork Nature Preserve coordinator, Elizabeth Acosta, put together teams from Keep Carrollton Beautiful, businesses, scouts, and service organizations from Creekview, Hebron, Ranchview and Turner to complete major maintenance projects at five different locations in Carrollton. Most of the volunteers are accustomed to volunteering for Keep Carrollton Beautiful, so they took it all in stride. There isn?t much that can?t be accomplished with cooperation!

Besides Ms. Acosta, City of Carrollton employees Heather Grance, Gena Spradling, Theresa Ostrander, as well as Tammy from the Senior Center all pitched in with the volunteers to accomplish the work. Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s executive director, Sharon Goddard, and two Keep Carrollton Beautiful Board of Directors members, Diane Taheri and Cathy Henesey ?manned? two of the locations.

Ms. Acosta split the volunteers up into groups. Some, supervised by Halliburton employees, worked at the Dimension Tract to spread mulch on the trail all the way down to the canoe put-in to cover the gushy mud and picked up trash around the whole area. Others were at the Elm Fork Nature Preserve spreading mulch on trails, picking up trash and sealing benches. Others, including many homeowners, worked at each of two greenbelts ? Nob Hill Greenbelt Park – from McCoy Road to Frankford and Greenbelt Park – from Josey Lane to Woodlake Elementary School picking up trash. The largest group, including many Halliburton employees lead by Kathy Williams, volunteering for Keep Carrollton Beautiful, sealed all the benches at the Senior Center/Library Complex at Josey Ranch, sealed the fence around the ?natural area? at the library and pick-up trash from Keller Springs, all through Josey Ranch Sports Complex including the lakes and creek and down to Thomas swimming pool. What a great accomplishment in only two hours!

?We could have never been so efficient if it wasn?t for Elizabeth?s planning and coordination. She had all the supplies ready for us and everyone knew what was expected of them at each of the sites,? said Sharon Goddard, Keep Carrollton Beautiful. ?She did a great job!?

They had some wonderful in-kind donors ? coffee from Starbucks, sealer from Keller Moore paint, composted mulch from Living Earth Technologies, drinks from Pepsi ? but best of all was all the wonderful (and warm) pizza from Little Caesars. Since some of the volunteers didn?t stay for lunch, they took the still piping hot pizza to Juliet Fowler Home.

If you?d like to find out how you can help at the Elm Fork Nature Preserve, go to ww.cityofcarrollton.com/leisure/parksrec. If you?d like to volunteer for Keep Carrollton Beautiful, their next event is the Great American Cleanup on 4-19-08. Go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org for information and registration.

Carrollton, We Really Cleanup Up!

	The Carrollton Evening Lions Club are great partners! And they can really cook some goodhotdogs.
Girl Scouts of America Troop 1348 are indispensible talet that we couldn’t do without. They make it all run so smoothly	Boy Scouts of America Troop 114 really come in a make it all possible! Lots of energy in their group.	BLIA-YAD of Dallas joined us for the second year.

On Saturday April 19th, Keep Carrollton Beautiful, with the help of it?s dedicated Board of Directors, the Carrollton Evening Lions Club, City of Carrollton and 300 volunteers – cleaned the whole community. If you were out for the beautiful day, you probably saw teams of volunteers picking up trash out in fields, green belts and along creeks and train tracks. The numbers aren?t in yet but they filled a half of a 30-yard dumpster!

This was Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s fifth annual Great American Cleanup / Don?t? Mess With Texas Trash-Off and the event awareness has been building steadily. The kids and their committed leaders from Girl Scout Troop 1348 and Boy Scout Troop 114 are veteran volunteers for this event; helping with the planning each year. Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Teen Advisory Board members pitched in to bring community service organizations from both Hebron and Creekview.

Making ?mass feeding? possible is the Carrollton Evening Lions Club. Swarms of gold vests could be seen carrying grills, cooking and passing out hot dogs to the hungry volunteers.

?Our in-kind donors make an event this large possible. Without Cadbury-Schweppes, Albertson, United Party Rental Center, Allied Waste Services, Frito-Lay, Tom Thumb and Trinity Medical Center, we would not be able to accommodate the trash and our volunteers,? said Sharon Goddard.

Environmental Educators provided games, specimens and demonstrations – informing everyone. Many were surprised to learn how long it takes to decompose everyday trash, like 75 years for disposable diapers, 10-12 years for cigarette butts, and NEVER for styrofoam.

The participants also learned about how they can create their own Backyard Wildlife Habitat to provide migration corridors for birds. Beneficial Aquatic bugs were on display. There were ?found? natural specimens from the Elm Fork Nature Preserve. And a stormwater Enviro-Scape showed everyone how pesticide run-off from your yard can pollute creeks and lakes.

During the Great American Cleanup, Keep Carrollton Beautiful not only holds this event each year; but assists groups cleaning all 6 Adopt-A-Spots, schools with Earth Day Celebrations, and a Trinity River cleanup in Carrollton. This year many schools and neighborhood groups also cleaned.

?What we notice is that the railroads aren?t very good neighbors. They are responsible for trash along their own tracks, but that?s where we pick up the most,? said the Director.

The City of Carrollton is deciding how to fund Keep Carrollton Beautiful right now. Please let your City Council person know how important you think their programs are. Keep Carrollton Beautiful wants to continue to provide you with a place to plug into the community.

If you?d like to see how you can help or have a project in mind, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org. Thank you to everyone who came out to the make the Great American Cleanup a great success!

On Saturday March 1st, at Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Idea Exchange, 36 neighbors came together from all over the city to brainstorm and discuss hundreds of ideas! All participants were involved, caring citizens exercising their personal power to be part of the solution in their neighborhood.

They noticed that all their neighborhoods had the same intention of being clean, beautiful and safe ? just some were closer to the goal than others. There were those who were successful HOAs with bylaws and mandatory fees; others who did a lot but were voluntary neighborhood associations with not much money to work with; and still others who were deciding how to start a group or resurrect one.

All of them have in common our City ordinances and available City neighborhood assistance programs. There were ideas about how to apply for the grants and how to get more involved in the surveillance of their neighborhoods.

They found they had dozens of opportunities for help from Keep Carrollton Beautiful. Keep Carrollton Beautiful has made it possible for Hunter?s Creek HOA to award ?Yard of the Month? with their own sign. A non-profit helping local teens, Team Me USA, is looking into adopting a ?spot?. Because they are choosing a greenbelt to adopt, they will have more rustic signs than those seen around town for Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Adopt-A-Spot program.

Many of the groups are planning neighborhood cleanups for Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Great American Cleanup on April 19th. They discovered that all they have to do is come get their free supplies and bring the trash back to Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s event to avoid landfill fees.

The attendees learned about Green Business presentations, school paper recycling programs, cell phone recycling and many other programs offered by Keep Carrollton Beautiful. You can find out about all of these programs addressing environmental issues around AIR, LAND, WATER and COMMUNITY at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.

Be sure to see the displays about Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s neighborhood programs and the Great American Cleanup at both libraries during March and April – so you too can become part of the solution.

On Saturday, at Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Idea Exchange, 36 neighbors came together from all over the city to brainstorm and discuss hundreds of ideas! All participants were involved, caring citizens exercising their personal power to be part of the solution in their neighborhood.

They noticed that all their neighborhoods had the same intention of being clean, beautiful and safe ? just some were closer to the goal than others. There were those who were successful HOAs with bylaws and mandatory fees; others who did a lot but were voluntary neighborhood associations with not much money to work with; and still others who were deciding how to start a group or resurrect one.

All of them have in common our City ordinances and available City neighborhood assistance programs. There were ideas about how to apply for the grants and how to get more involved in the surveillance of their neighborhoods.

They found they had dozens of opportunities for help from Keep Carrollton Beautiful. Keep Carrollton Beautiful has made it possible for Hunter?s Creek HOA to award ?Yard of the Month? with their own sign. A non-profit helping local teens, Team Me USA, is looking into adopting a ?spot?. Because they are choosing a greenbelt to adopt, they will have more rustic signs than those seen around town for Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Adopt-A-Spot program.

Many of the groups are planning neighborhood cleanups for Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s Great American Cleanup on April 19th. They discovered that all they have to do is come get their free supplies and bring the trash back to Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s event to avoid landfill fees.

The attendees learned about Green Business presentations, school paper recycling programs, cell phone recycling and many other programs offered by Keep Carrollton Beautiful. You can find out about all of these programs addressing environmental issues around AIR, LAND, WATER and COMMUNITY at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.

Be sure to see the displays about Keep Carrollton Beautiful?s neighborhood programs and the Great American Cleanup at both libraries during March and April – so you too can become part of the solution.

• Become a member of your school’s Green Team for fun activities and special resources (below) from Keep Carrollton Beautiful or email Mark Schallhorn at schallhornm@cfbisd.edu to see what his Science Resource Center has waiting for YOU.
• Let us know what activities your Green Team is accomplishing and we’ll put you on our website!
• Be sure and participate in your school’s paper recycling program.
• Watch this to find our WHY:http://www.secret-life.org/paper/
• Contact your Teen Advisory Board member to find out about upcoming events geared for high school students.

Green Team Resources

	Don’t Mess with Texas Litter Bags, perfect for every vehicle
	Don’t Mess with Texas decals, for glass application in your room or on your vehicle
	Don’t Mess with Texas stickers, perfect for binders and notebooks
	River and Sky activity book, 13 pages, older kids. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Clean Water for Texas, 12 pages, for teachers, leaders or parents,Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Drive Clean Across Texas bumper sticker – very informative website at drivecleanacrosstexas.org
	Drive Clean Across Texas For their health…and yours, pamphlet about what you can do, EPA, TxDOT, TCEQ
	When You Care for Your Car, You Care for the Air, booklet in English, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	When You Care for Your Car, You Care for the Air, same booklet reversed  in Spanish,  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Water Re-Cycle-S poster, 18×24, Environmental Protection Agency, back has activities about water cycle
	Virtural Water Treatment Plant Tour – DVD with activities, water cycle explained, Environmental Protection Agenecy
	Meet the Air Pollution Gremlins poster, 16×20, front in English, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Meet the Air Pollution Gremlins poster, 16×20, back in Spanish, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Take Care of Texas, 4" x 4" decal, refers to great website, takecareoftexas.org
	Take Care of Texas pamphlet with great ideas, primer on living a greener life, wonderful resources for teachers on their site, takecareoftexas.org
	Clean Air Crew activity book, 17 pages, might be available in Spanish if you need it, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
	Parents Guide to Clean Air Crew, activity book, TCEQ

• Conceived, orchestrated and funded 48 public events utilizing 5,150 individual volunteers to collect more than 47,000 pounds of litter and diverting more than 65,000 pounds of recyclables ? avoiding disposal fees, using free volunteer labor benefiting a number of charities, and creating revenue for the community of Carrollton.
• Amassed almost 34,000 volunteer hours valued at more than $429,000.00 ? partnering with more than 166 businesses, 10 civic organizations, 15 other non-profits, 10 City of Carrollton people/departments, Carrollton/Farmers Branch and Lewisville Independent School Districts and PTA?s, the North District Boy Scouts and both the North Central Texas Council of the Girl Scouts USA to unity Carrollton.
• Raised more than $136,000. dollars of in-kind donations; and raised more than $98,000. dollars in cash to support event planning, cleanups, recycling and environmental awareness classes for Carrollton.
• Educated more than 4,200 citizens in natural resource conservation and stewardship responsibility ? quadrupling single family residential recycling, maintaining pre-draught levels of water consumption and creating a cell phone recycling program.
• Initiated Adopt-A-Spot for the business community and currently have 6 spot sponsors.
• Created a Teen Advisory Board from all Carrollton high schools and awarded 8 college scholarships to our graduating senior members.
• Held four Texas Recycles Days – partnering with dozens of recycling vendors, the City of Carrollton, Carrollton Evening Lions Club, CFBISD and all area high schools ? diverting 64,000 pounds of recyclables from the landfill.
• Partnered with CFBISD, Carrollton Evening Lions Club, Halliburton, Boy Scouts of American, The Civic League and the City of Carrollton Parks and Rec. Department to hold Making A Difference in Carrollton workdays ? the first year working on four homes ? refurbishing and repairing 2 elderly citizens? homes and manicuring the yards of 2 disabled citizens? group homes; the second year we were at the CFBISD Outdoor Learning Center to construct a 225? x 150? Native Plant Garden (no mow area) acquiring $2,600.00 worth of ?recycled lumber? for the project; the third year we installed 6 benches at the Native Plant Garden so the kids can observe, sketch and BE in nature; and this year completed mulching, sealing and trash pickup maintenance projects at five sites with the City on Carrollton Cares Day.
• Coordinated collecting recycled barrels, had student groups paint them with environmental scenes and installed them in administrative office of six schools and sponsor lobbies to recycle cell phones.
• Hosted six Texas SmartScape Classes; an Idea Exchange with Keep Texas Beautiful coordinators; an On-Line Auction; a Meeting with the Mayor for sponsors and members; Sustainable Carrollton; an Econ. Develop. Bus Tour; an Idea Exchange for neighborhood groups and initiated Green Team paper recycling with ABITIBI paying the CFBISD schools for an average of 65 tons of paper a month.
• Hosted five Great American Cleanups with hundreds of volunteers collecting 47,000 pounds of litter and debris from greenbelts, creeks, vacant lots and streets in Carrollton.
• Recognized twelve homeowners with Yard of the Month awards and newspaper recognition and recently made it possible for neighborhood groups to give their own awards.
• Partnered with Intuit and Exponent HR for five Springs River Cleanups, cleaning tons of gushy trash from the Elm Fork and Denton Creek of the Trinity River.
• Created and distributed ten newsletters educating about environmental stewardship and acknowledging a Volunteer of the Season in each.
• Launched a new donated website at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org to educate the public about environmental issues.
• Received two Silver Star Awards and two Gold Star Awards from Keep Texas Beautiful.
• Partnered with Dallas Down River, Carrollton Evening Lions Club, Trinity Medical Center and Allied Waste Services to host two and plan a forth regional Trinity River Trash Bash events with hundreds of volunteers spending thousands of hours planning and collecting tons of gushy litter and waste from the Elm Fork and McInnish Park.
• Partnered with the City Arborist and Senior Center to host Carrollton Arbor Day at Josey Ranch Lake with 400 volunteers planting 105 containerized trees, giving ?foster homes? to 100 pecan seedlings donated by the Texas Forest Service, planting many acorns ?like a squirrel?, drawing the ?Beauty of Carrollton? and dedicating a pecan tree to Clyde R. Horn for Environmental Service.
• Partnered with Carrollton service organizations to create Community Carrollton.
• Distilled federal, state, regional and city environmental goals to create goals and initiatives for us to promote.
• Created and printed reusable grocery bags to sell to the public and make plastic obsolete.