As part of Bluegrass Greensource’s litter abatement outreach we created a regional affiliation of Keep America Beautiful (KAB) known as Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful (KBB). KBB allows each participating county to access the vast network and resources that are offered by Keep America Beautiful, as well as the ability to network and join forces with other cities and counties in Central Kentucky to further our mission.
Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful’s mission is “to inspire and educate people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green beautiful place to live.” They partner with over 600 affiliated, community-based organizations and engage over 5-million volunteers that work towards beautifying our communities through efforts such as their end littering and improve recycling campaigns. They facilitate community clean ups, native species plantings, educational programs, and more to achieve their mission.
Keep America Beautiful's 5-step Behavioral Process
Education and behavior change are the cornerstones of Keep America Beautiful — as an affiliate, our service programming will be based on the knowledge and needs of our communities. We will use KAB’s five step process to determining what those needs and concerns are, and to work with citizens, businesses, and community leaders to educate and encourage behavior change. The five steps are:
1) Get the facts
2) Involve the people
3) Plan systematically
4) Focus on results
5) Provide positive reinforcement
These steps are based on research and meant to be a guiding process to developing and implementing community beautification, litter reduction, and recycling improvement programs in Central Kentucky. Involving the community and shaping our programs to fit their concerns and needs will give community members a stake in the process and help make our efforts more successful.
Our Members
Fayette County is not a member of Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful, because they have their own affiliated organization, Keep Lexington Beautiful. If you are a resident of Lexington-Fayette County looking to get involved, please refer to their website here.
Why be a member?
National Network and Credibility
Keep America Beautiful is a nation-wide network of community beautification, litter reduction, and recycling improvement programs. As a member of Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful, your community will have access to all the resources that come with being a part of the national organization. The programs you implement as a member of KBB will hold credibility as a branch of this larger network of programs.
Trainings
Keep America Beautiful hosts national and state wide conferences, as well as webinars to help affiliates grow their knowledge base as they implement programs in their communities.
Tools
The national organization provides tools, such as the KAB Community Appearance Index, a focus area survey, and a cost-benefit analysis tool, that help communities measure the needs and state of their community. These tools make it easier to know what areas the community needs to focus on or to assess the impact of programs in place.
Grants
As an affiliate, Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful is eligible for grants, such as the Lowe’s Community Partner Grant and the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. Any grants we receive as an affiliated organization will go to the member communities of our organization.
KBB Steering Committee
As a member, you will have a voting member on our steering committee. This will give your community a seat at the table as we work together to discuss the needs of our communities and make decisions about programming.
To learn more about becoming a member, contact Alex Smith at info@bggreensource.org.
Our Programs
Great American Cleanup
As a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, we will connect with our members across Central Kentucky to take part in the nation’s largest community improvement program. The Great American Cleanup encourages local leaders to address their community’s individual needs by organizing community cleanups, greenings, education, and recycling to improve their area. In 2020, our Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful communities recruited 124 volunteers to collect over 2,037 lbs. of litter in Central Kentucky! Read more details about the nationwide program here.
Annual Community Litter Index
The Community Litter Index is KAB’s step-by-step way of measuring a community’s current litter conditions to help them better address their unique needs. This index is used by thousands of communities across the nation, and is also our method of assessing litter in the Bluegrass region.
Cigarette Litter Prevention Program
The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program is the nation’s largest initiative targeting cigarette litter. The program provides four key solutions to cigarette litter: litter law enforcement, public education about the issue, strategically placed ashtray receptacles, and the distribution of portable ashtrays to smokers. Keep America Beautiful provides informational materials and funding to its affiliates to help them implement these programs. In 2019, Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful was awarded $2,500 to help prevent cigarette litter in Versailles and Midway. For more information, visit Keep America Beautiful’s page on the program here.
America Recycles Day
America Recycles Day takes place annually on or around November 15th. As a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, Keep the Bluegrass Beautiful will be working with communities around Central Kentucky to organize events that promote or increase recycling initiatives. For resources to learn more and get started organizing your own America Recycles Day event, click here, or contact alex@bggreensource.org.
Advisory Board:
Greg Butler, Chair – Shelby County
Bridgette Lester – Boyle County
Shanda Cecil – Clark County
Brittany Woodward – Franklin County
Maxine Rudder – Garrard County
Jane Vanhook – Lincoln County
Jared Hollon – Scott County
Lori Saunders – Scott County
Laura Dake – Woodford County
Alex Smith, Executive Director (not pictured)
