Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) has recognized Irving as one of 10 winners of the 2018 Governor’s Community Achievement Awards (GCAA) for outstanding community improvement.  The award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas. The winners will share $2 million in landscape funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT); Irving will receive $310,000 for a landscaping project along a local state right-of-way.

Communities submitted materials in one of 10 population categories and judges chose the winners based on their achievements in seven environmental and community improvement areas: community leadership and coordination, education, public awareness, litter prevention and cleanup, litter law and illegal dumping enforcement, beautification and community improvement, and solid waste management.

Keep Irving Beautiful’s Board President Jim Scrivner spoke for the affiliate by saying, “Winning the GCAA is a very prestigious honor for any community.  Irving competes in population category 10, with the largest cities in the state, and this marks the fourth time we have been recognized. Previous projects using GCAA landscaping grants have included entryway signs and native landscaping at the east and west ends of Highway 356, and the planting of trees along Irving Boulevard. We look forward to this newest project and the lasting impact it will have on the beautification of our city.”

Keep Texas Beautiful and TxDOT first began working together in the late 1960s and have shared the common goals of making Texas roadways more attractive and safe for motorists and encouraging tourism. Since 1985, KTB has partnered with TxDOT to support its anti-litter and beautification programs such as Don’t mess with Texas Trash-Off and the Governor’s Community Achievement Awards. The GCAA program has recognized outstanding communities for more than 50 years, with TxDOT providing landscape funding since 1986.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with TxDOT on the GCAA Awards. Congrats to each of the award winners on their hard work beautifying communities across Texas!” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful.

Irving will receive its award on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 in Georgetown, Texas during KTB’s 51st Annual Conference.

About Keep Texas Beautiful

Keep Texas Beautiful is a network of dedicated Texans working together to make our state the best place to live, work and play. We equip local partners and affiliates with the tools they need to build vibrant, engaged communities. Founded in 1967, Keep Texas Beautiful has over 50 years of experience deploying resources for local clean-up, recycling and youth engagement efforts. Everything we do is focused on mobilizing volunteers to take action across the state. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we lead nearly 400 affiliates and reach 19 million Texans annually. We are proudly based in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.ktb.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @keeptxbeautiful.

About Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, rail, and public transportation across the state. TxDOT and its 12,000 employees are committed to working with others to provide safe and reliable transportation solutions for Texas by maintaining a safe system, addressing congestion, connecting Texas communities, and being a Best in Class state agency. Don’t mess with Texas® is a registered trademark owned by the Texas Department of Transportation. For more information visit www.dontmesswithtexas.org.

About Keep Irving Beautiful

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification 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 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 Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.

Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) recently attended Otis Brown Elementary School’s annual Career Day and spoke to three classes of approximately 120 1^st and 2^nd graders and their teachers about the many things KIB does in the Irving community in the areas of litter prevention, beautification, and recycling. Staff member Julie Schmitt was joined by Amber Nelson, representing the City of Irving’s Stormwater Program, and together they educated the students and teachers about the importance of keeping litter and pollutants out of the storm drains, making our waterways cleaner and safer for Texas residents, including our wildlife.

They stressed the importance of volunteering, regardless of age, and that anyone can help make Irving more beautiful by giving a little bit of their time to a good cause. Students were also shown a variety of items made from recycled materials, met Kirby, KIB’s toucan mascot, and learned that his name stands for “Keep Irving Recycling and Beautiful Year-Round.”

KIB Board Member Kelly Horn had this to say about the event: “Attending Irving ISD Career Days is a great way to get our message out to young people here in Irving. They learn things about taking care of the environment that they will share with their parents and carry with them throughout their lives. KIB staff attends several career days each year, and the schools do a wonderful job of organizing these events.”

is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification 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 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 Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.

Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) recently joined forces with the Irving-based Javelin Agency for a day of service at Bird’s Fort Trail Park, part of Irving’s northern Campion Trails system. The group of eleven employee volunteers met at the park on the beautiful morning of February 8, ready to make a difference.  After receiving their supplies – which included trash and recycle bags, litter pickers, and safety vests - and hearing a safety speech, the group set out to pick up litter.  They focused on the areas where recent rains had caused the river to rise, leaving behind litter along the banks once the water had receded.  They teamed together to be of maximum efficiency, working their way north along the trails.  After logging twenty-two hours of volunteer service, they also helped to weigh and record the amounts collected, which came to 75.5 pounds of trash and 43.5 pounds of recyclables, the majority of that being plastic bottles. KIB worked closely with the Parks Department in this project to reserve the area and provide logistic support.

The KIB cleanup was part of “Javelin Giving Day,” which offered employees from the Irving headquarters as well as the New York and California offices an opportunity to give back by participating in their choice of service projects in their respective locations.  While the KIB team was cleaning the Campion Trails, other groups were partnering with non-profits in activities ranging from walking dogs to serving meals.

KIB Board Member Karen Harmon had this to say about the event: “We are seeing more and more of this type of activity in our corporate community, where a company focuses on giving back to the community where they are located. Service days like this are a great opportunity for employees to get out of their normal work environment, perhaps work with different people, and in this case, getting outdoors and enjoying nature. We appreciate the great effort by the Javelin employees here at Bird’s Fort Trail.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification 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 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 Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.

Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) celebrated another successful year in 2017, as they marked their 25^th anniversary of educating and engaging the community in litter abatement, beautification, and recycling. Here are some highlights:

Litter abatement: There were 12 cleanups, where 878 volunteers gave 2,643 hours and collected more than 9,600 pounds of trash and recyclables. These included the two big events, the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off in April, and the Trash Bash in September, as well as smaller-scale cleanups with neighborhood associations, school, faith, and corporate groups. Adopt-a-Spot volunteers contributed another 5,6,86 hours and more than 3,500 bags of trash and recyclables.

Community beautification and greening: Beautification included revitalizing parks and rec centers with eight paint projects, including service days with corporate groups (Vizient, Acosta Marketing), schools (Cistercian, Cristo Rey, and North Lake) and faith groups (Calvary and Latter-day Saints). There were several tree planting projects, thanks to a $5,000 UPS grant which funded 41 trees planted on the north Campion trails, and a $3,000 Verizon donation which funded 28 native trees at Wyche Park. The 2014 Governor’s Community Achievement project (a $310,000 landscaping grant from TxDOT) was completed, with 303 large trees and irrigation installed along Irving Boulevard.

Recycling: KIB participated in 16 “Green Events,” where recycling stations encouraged attendees to think about the “Three Rs” – reduce, reuse, recycle. These included a Texas AirHogs baseball game fundraiser, and community events like the YMCA Fall Festival and America Recycles Day.

Awards and recognition: KIB was honored with the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling North Texas Award for Outstanding Environmental Education and Public Outreach, and the Keep Texas Beautiful Gold Star and Sustained Excellence Awards. Nationally, they received the Keep America Beautiful President’s Circle and Sustained Excellence Awards, one of only six affiliates nationwide to achieve this designation. 

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification 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 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 Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.

Keep Irving Beautiful has been a part of a special Veterans Day celebration for several years - Unite for Troops, a community event that honors veterans and current members of the military who are deployed around the world.  While the day features several musical acts, booths, displays, arts and crafts tables, and vendors of all kinds, the main focus is on donations of items which are packaged and sent to troops, and on raising money for the shipping costs. The event is hosted by longtime Irving residents Steve and Cindy Porter of Porter’s Army Navy on Irving Boulevard.

KIB staff was assisted by five North Lake College students, who gave 31 hours of service by helping in a variety of ways.  While some were working at the KIB table with the prize wheel, helping children answer questions about the environment, others were keeping the grounds litter-free, monitoring the recycling stations or assisting at other booths and tables as needed.  As part of their “Green Event” program, KIB provided the recycling containers and encouraged attendees to dispose of items properly.  Another way KIB promoted recycling was by giving away recycled books as prizes.  These were donated by the Friends of the Irving Public Library.

KIB Board Member Kelly Horn commented on the event by saying, “Any time we can support a worthwhile cause like this, we are happy to do it. It’s a great way for our students to interact with the community, and to help us get KIB’s message out. It’s always nice to see such an outpouring of support from so many groups in Irving, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification 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 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 Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.