There are many opportunities to volunteer in April as Keep Liberty Beautiful observes Earth Month. From litter cleanups and geocache fun, to environmental education disguised as a festival, there will be plenty to do to thank the Earth.
Our biggest event is on Earth Day April 22. Yes, it is the time to party for the planet and, hopefully, learn something too. The 10th annual Earth Day celebration in Liberty County will be 3:30-6:30 p.m. on the YMCA soccer fields at the corner of Mary Lou Drive and Tupelo Trail.
Activities include free family fun and games and opportunities for kids of all ages to stretch their brains to see how much they know about taking care of the environment.
A few years ago, we thought Earth Day would be a great time to increase public awareness about issues like stormwater pollution and litter. These issues have a detrimental impact on the quality of our local waterways. We wanted to educate our community about effective ways to make a difference with their choices. Now, I take these issues seriously, but my theory is that kids — adults, too — learn more by interacting, and making it fun doesn’t hurt either. So Liberty County’s Earth Day celebration was created to cleverly disguise environmental education as fun.
With more than 75 booths, displays, games and other activities, we cannot do this alone. So we invited more than 300 friends to host events to make this party happen.
We also have had sponsors over the years: Georgia Power, Coastal EMC, Canoochee EMC, SNF, Hinesville Area Arts Council, Liberty County Solid Waste Authority, Liberty County Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the cities of Flemington, Hinesville, Allenhurst and Walthourville, along with Liberty and Long counties.
So plan to join us to learn more about litter prevention, recycling and waste reduction, water conservation, stormwater pollution prevention, green space and natural resources.
And the opportunities don’t stop there. Throughout the month, we are partnering with cities and several communities to fight litter.
Here are some of the upcoming cleanups:
April 9: citywides in Riceboro and Flemington, as well as East End area and Geocache Adventure Kickoff
April 16: Hinesville citywide
April 23: Isle of Wight
April 30: citywides in Walthourville and Allenhurst
May 7: Woodland Lakes
May 14: St. Catherine’s beach
We provide supplies, water and even Superhero T-shirts for all registered volunteers. Volunteers are also treated after each citywide cleanup to a picnic by cities and sponsors. You can also schedule other dates for cleanups.
Whether you are a litter hater, community lover, environmentalist or just concerned about your quality of life, join in Earth Month.
For more information or to volunteer, call us at 912-880 4888, email mailto:klcb@coastalnow.net or go to http://www.keepliberty beautiful.org.
Swida is the director of Keep Liberty Beautiful.