Keep Irving Beautiful and Partners Celebrate Earth Month
(IRVING, TEXAS)— Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) had a productive April, partnering with several groups to conduct “Earth Month” activities. April 22 has been known as “Earth Day” since 1970, but interest and participation have grown beyond just one day to include the entire month of April.
KIB started April with the annual “Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off” cleanup at Trinity View Park, 2221 E. State Highway 356. This event, part of Keep Texas Beautiful’s statewide initiative and Keep America Beautiful’s “Great American Cleanup” nationwide program, set the tone for the month. During April, KIB worked with several new partners for cleanups, including BBB Industries who picked up litter near the Rock Island Road Bike and Pedestrian Trail on April 8. Employee volunteers from the Irving and Dallas offices of the Claudia Salas State Farm Insurance Agency joined forces on April 22 for a cleanup at Running Bear Park, 2601 S. Story Road.
On April 21, KIB staff visited the Lively Adult Day Therapeutic Program and brought our toucan mascot Kirby to teach about recycling and the importance of not littering. The clients enjoyed discovering some of the many items that can be made from recycled materials, and followed with a cleanup of Lively Park, 909 N. O’Connor Road.
Abbott Laboratories employees helped to beautify a popular Irving attraction with a paint project at the Animal Connection Experience at Fritz Park, 312 E. Vilbig St., on April 15. They put a fresh coat of paint on the metal fencing, preparing for the arrival of the summer season. Another paint project was with a new partner, the Amazon DAL-2 Fulfillment Center at the DFW Airport. This group of employee volunteers gathered at Southwest Park, 2800 Shady Grove Road, on April 23 to give a fresh new look to the soccer field by painting the surrounding fencing.
KIB partnered with the West Irving Library for an Earth Day project that included building birdhouses and a plant exchange. KIB supplied birdhouse kits that were donated by the Parks Department, and the library supplied the plants.
Additionally, the Bird’s Fort Trail Butterfly Garden is thriving, thanks to the efforts of volunteers who tend to the many different plants that help to attract butterflies and other pollinators to the area. KIB invites the community to visit the beauty of the garden located at 5756 Riverside Drive. The garden is along the city’s Campion Trail system.
“April is typically our busiest month of the year, and 2022 was no exception,” said KIB board member Margie Stipes. “We started the month with a community cleanup and ended with Arbor Day, with a great variety of projects and partners in between. Of course, at KIB we like to say that every day is Earth Day, so all of our activities throughout the year reflect that theme.”
Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.