Bluegrass PRIDE is now Bluegrass Greensource. We’ve updated our social media accounts, launched our new website, and got new business cards and email addresses. But now what?
Amy Sohner, executive director of BG Greensource, took a moment to reflect on our accomplishments in the last 12 years and expressed her optimism for the future. “Since I’ve been around from the organization’s beginning, I have really enjoyed seeing a shift in the understanding of what it means to be green. And with our new name, new brand, we want to continue this momentum.”
Our environmental educators have worked with students in over 230 schools. “On any given day, they may be knee deep in a stream showing kids how to test water quality or up to their elbows in classroom trash as they complete a dumpster dive.” Amy reminisced.
We also work with teachers on how they can use the environment to teach across all disciplines. We have taken science, social studies and English teachers in a coal mine and to solar farms to help them teach about energy.
PRIDE’s outreach specialists stay busy reaching out to Central Kentucky’s adult population and educating them on waste reduction, water quality and energy efficiency. This year, our staff assisted with home energy audits, partnered with community organizations to stencil storm drains and completed waste analyses for area businesses helping them recycle almost 1500 tons.
Our grant programs have done good work all around the region. Invasive plants were removed at Lower Howard’s Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve and their first public hiking trail was opened. Five reusable water bottle stations were installed on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University, saving tens of thousands of plastic water bottles from the landfill. Madison County Conservation District was able to develop a fallen animal composting pad to use for education and demonstration purposes. Herrington Lake Conservation League cleaned up the lake, filling 19 commercial dumpsters with litter and manmade debris from the lake, while establishing a recycling and litter reduction program at several marinas.
We’ve also provide resources to community groups to address litter, assisting with the removal more than 150,000 bags of trash from local roadways and stream banks. To promote our message across the region, we have worked to help make events throughout Central Kentucky both litter, and waste free!
Over time, we became THE SOURCE for green education in Central Kentucky and we wanted our name to better reflect our mission and the fact that we are the Green Source for this area. As we begin this new chapter, we want to continue our outreach in the schools, building on the programs we provide in our region.
We want to continue our outreach in homes, encouraging small changes that have a big impact, not only to our local environment, but also on our wallets and our health.
We want to grow our over 600 business and apartment complex partnerships, assisting them in all of their green needs and helping them get recognition for being environmentally responsible.
We’ve made great progress, but we need your help spreading the word. Same important mission, just a new name. Bluegrass PRIDE is now Bluegreass Green Source. Please share the news with your friends and your community.
