- To reach every new and established citizen with comprehensive information and involvement which will enhance their experience as members of Barrow County society
- Establish a routine teaching environment with the Barrow County School System to teach and promote more environmental education.
- Promote water education and awareness for all citizens in form of Adopt-A-Stream, storm water education and storm drain stenciling programs.
- Work with the Master Gardening and 4-H programs through the County Extension program to promote special programs for every season of the year.
Keep Barrow Beautiful
Mission Statement
It is the mission of Keep Barrow Beautiful to promote our community's quality of life through programs including solid waste management, beautification, natural resource education, community stewardship, recycling, and other events which enhance citizen's everyday life.
Objectives:
Recycle Flourescent Light Bulbs
PRESS RELEASE
Keep Barrow Beautiful
July 29, 2009
(Winder GA)
This is the time of year when Keep Barrow Beautiful staff and volunteers scout out 60 sites across Barrow County to perform a yearly evaluation on litter. In completing the 2009 survey recently, the tallies show that litter on the roadsides has improved slightly over the 2008 survey. Keep America Beautiful uses a Litter Index for people performing the evaluations and are systematic for every community in the United States. This tool is quite effective in its simplicity compared to years ago when slide film and wall grids were required. “The process of involving citizens in the community makes the task more pleasant to perform,” states Shannon Navarre Young, Director of KBB. “Notes are taken and with the categories based on our 6 commission districts, we can track where we need stepped up efforts in the following months.”
It’s also interesting to note things that volunteers see in comparison to what a “seasoned eye” so boringly records. Though litter is a simple problem, the ripple effect it has on the community is astounding. In these economic hard times, most of the problem stems from vacant properties left to accumulate garbage and tall grass. An unintended consequence to the lack of funds in government is tall grass on the roadsides. This may cover up properties and abandoned areas that would normally stick out when the adjacent areas are nice and short. As long as the tall grass is uniform for a long distance, the lack of mowing isn’t quite the problem as once expected. On the Roads and State highways, the line-sight distance at intersections seem to be the obvious priority. “We just aren’t hearing the complaints I expected to hear,” notes Young. “Hopefully everyone understands the predicament. It does seem like our citizens are chipping in to clean strips of roadside in front of their homes and businesses more than before. I have also had an increase in Adopt-A-Road volunteers this year. In the Commission districts (like district 1) with the most miles adopted, the numbers in the Litter Index tell it all.
On a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being heavily littered), the entire county average for the Index is 1.45. This compares with 2 from last year. The areas that are graded include county roads, highways, industrial areas, residential streets, downtown areas and businesses. The cleanest area is District 1 and the most littered is District 5. KBB hopes to recruit more citizens for the western portion of the county and hopefully this will make the same impact as the citizens did on the eastern portion.
For more information on how you can get involved in the Barrow County Adopt A Road Program, just call Director Shannon Young at 770-307-3020 or email syoung@barrowga.org. It’s a great program and makes a big difference in our community.
