Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) visited Clifton Early Childhood School on April 19 to present their environmental skit to the Pre-K children at both the morning and afternoon sessions as part of the school’s week-long Earth Day celebration.  KIB staff member Julie Schmitt served as the skit emcee, while Clifton staff members volunteered to wear the costumes of KIB mascot “Kirby” the toucan, Buddy the Blue Recycling Bag and the Litterbug.  During the presentation, the children learned that it was important to recycle and not litter, and also learned that Kirby’s name means “Keep Irving Recycling and Beautiful Year-Round.”  They were shown items that are made from recycled materials, such as a shirt made from plastic bottles and a cup made from recycled denim blue jeans.  At the end of the skit, the Litterbug becomes the “Recycle Bug,” and pledges with the students to never litter and always recycle and help keep Irving clean and beautiful.

“We first brought the environmental skit to Clifton in 2010 at the invitation of teacher Veronica Rubio, and we have continued to visit during Earth week each year” said Ms. Schmitt.  “The children are very receptive to the anti-littering, pro-recycling message, which is presented in a fun way by the different characters.  At KIB, we feel that is important to start teaching children from an early age about the importance of taking care of the environment, so reaching out to early Childhood Schools like Clifton is a great way to do that.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification in order to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city. As an award winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to and partners with all sectors of our city including government, business, church, cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations.  If you are interested in volunteering with KIB, or making your activity a “green event,” please go to www.keepirvingbeautiful.org, or call the KIB office at 972-721-2175.