Keep America Beautiful comes to Calhoun
Keep Calhoun-Gordon Beautiful is established through the hard work of locals interested in creating a more sustainable community.
“We’re running out of landfill space. At which point do you contaminate all of the ground?” Calhoun Middle School teacher Donny Robertson asked. “At what point do we say enough’s enough?”
Robertson, who teaches an elective called “Going Green” among other science courses, is involved in establishing a Calhoun-Gordon County affiliate of Keep America/ Georgia Beautiful. Along with other locals, he’s been working on raising awareness, changing the mindset of the local community towards sustainability and beautification. And he’s also the new club’s president.
“I was asked if I was willing to be the president, and sure I’m willing but I’m just going to do what I have to do,” Robertson said, adding that he doesn’t want to sit on the side- lines. “There’s a need to get things off the ground and going.”
As someone who’s become tired of finding and picking up excess litter on his street, Robertson wants to make a change. And he personally believes that recycling and keeping the community beautiful has nothing to do with politics, though he’s had some call him a “left-winged liberal.”
According to him, doing the right thing shouldn’t be restrained to political parties.
“I couldn’t care less if you’re a Democrat or a Republican or whatever,” he said. “If it’s the right thing to do, it’s the right thing to do. (Recycling) shouldn’t be tied to politics at all whatsoever.”
Currently, the KCGB president is educating his middle school students on the importance of recycling, diverting waste away from landfills and how large scale changes start with small steps.
To be officially affiliated with KAB/ KGB, the Keep Calhoun-Gordon Beautiful group needs to host a certain amount of events that would encompass the three focus areas of litter reduction, recycling and beautification.
BEAUTIFUL,
And in addition to Robertson, others who are involved with the KCGB include Halstead International’s Sustainability Specialist Jordan Stone (who serves as the group’s vice-president), Amanda Tate, Angie Gravitt, Amber Nagle, Jane and Ed Weldon and Calhoun’s City Recycling Coordinator Judy Peterson.
Peterson, who has been working with local businesses and the city’s Recycling Center for around four years, is very excited about the KCGB becoming an established organization in the community.
She is especially proud of the way the already formulated group includes members from all age groups, ranging from 20-year-olds to those in their 80s.
“We’ve got beautiful crosses of people from all across the spectrum and I think that is lovely,” Peterson said, including that she appreciates the different perspectives various age groups bring to the table. “We all have the same goals; we just view it a little differently.”
And in addition to creating a greener, healthier place to live through her association with KCGB, Peterson wants to also highlight local businesses doing good work in attempts to raise awareness. Both her and Robertson identified Halstead International and Mohawk Industries as two major leaders in Gordon County who are prioritizing recycling and waste reduction.
“I don’t know that we give businesses, small or large, enough credit for what they’re doing,” Peterson said.
She commented that businesses such as Chick-fil-A, AdventHealth Gordon, Mannington Mills and Northwest Georgia Paving are making headway in being sustainable industries, focusing on recycling and sustainable production.
And along with help from businesses, organizations, individuals and local nonprofits, the KCGB will be raising local awareness surrounding landfills, waste reduction, recycling and how to keep the Calhoun/ Gordon County environment beautiful.
Robertson said he wants to be a part of a group of servant leaders, which is what the KCGB is intended to be. Robertson, Peterson and others involved want to see the local community adapt a more positive mindset toward sustainability and environmental care.
“We need to take care of what God’s given us, that’s my main thing,” Robertson said. “Be a good steward. If you love this creation why wouldn’t you want to take care of it?”
As one of the KCGB’s first official events, they will be co-hosting an Arbor Day celebration alongside the City of Calhoun, the Calhoun Woman’s Club, Master Gardeners and Calhoun Elementary School’s Rota Kids. At the event, the sponsors will be handing out free tree seedlings in order to raise awareness of the important role trees play in the environment.
The Arbor Day tree distribution will be on March 2, at the UGA Extension Service’s livestock pavilion, 1282 Ga. 53 Spur, from 9 a.m. until 1 p. m. Seedling species available will include eastern red cedar, bald cypress, dogwood, willow oak, red maple, Thuja, and wax myrtle. Seedlings will be distributed on a first-come, firstserved basis.
In addition, the KCGB will also be hosting a 2019 World Environment Day Golf Tournament on June 5 where proceeds will directly benefit the affiliation and help create a more beautiful, environmentally-friendly community. The KCGB is in the process of collecting registrations and sponsorships from local businesses, and Mohawk has partnered alongside the organization to sponsor the tournament.
The tournament will be held at Fields Ferry Golf Course, 581 Fields Ferry Drive, starting at noon.
For more information on either of these events or on the Calhoun Recycling Center, call Robertson at 706639-7556 or email Peterson at Peterson8336@gmail. com.