Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) celebrated another successful year in 2014 educating the community in its three main focus areas – litter abatement, beautification and recycling. KIB hosted two major cleanups, the “Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off” in April at Trinity View Park and the 23rd annual Trash Bash in September at T.W. Richardson Grove, which together drew over 850 volunteers. Combined with results from smaller scale cleanups with corporate, school, neighborhood associations and faith group partners, KIB volunteers removed over 13,500 pounds of litter.
In the area of beautification, KIB volunteers were very active in giving Irving parks and recreation centers a fresh look in eleven different paint projects. The popular Fritz Park Petting Farm was “adopted” by KIB, and in projects with North Lake Phi Theta Kappa, Canon, Verizon and the Irving Bible Church, the park fences and buildings were completed. KIB took a similar approach at Senter Park, the city’s original recreation center, which was painted in five projects by AmeriCorps, Allstate, Microsoft and VHA volunteers. KIB volunteers also participated in two planting projects at the Mountain Creek Preserve Tree Farm, resulting in 231 native trees which will one day be used to replenish the tree population as needed in parks. Planting was also the theme at the Gerald Taylor Memorial Community Garden at Bear Creek Church, with KIB and dozens of other groups or individuals maintaining raised beds and helping to provide fresh produce to the church’s food pantry.
KIB promoted recycling at 18 “green events,” where recycling stations were provided and attendees were encouraged to keep grounds litter-free. At events like Community Fest and the YMCA Fall Festival, KIB also had a table with a spinning wheel with questions about recycling and the environment, and gave away recycled books (donated by the Friends of the Irving Library) as prizes. At the PlayTri Festival Triathlon, KIB’s volunteers not only collected recyclables at the finish line area, but went a step further in diverting waste from the landfill by adding the collection of organic materials, such as banana peels and apple cores, for composting.
KIB’s year was highlighted when Irving won the prestigious Governor’s Community Achievement Award from the Texas Department of Transportation and Keep Texas Beautiful. According to KIB Board member Arnold Martin, this speaks to the dedication of volunteers. “When you look at what KIB has accomplished during 2014, you realize how important our volunteers are,” said Martin. “It is so encouraging to see people of all ages and from so many different backgrounds working together toward the goal of taking care of our environment and making Irving more beautiful. They gave over 4,200 hours of their time, and for that, we thank them very much.”
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.