Ah, yes! It’s that special time of year again when the flowers and trees start to bloom, family-friendly festivals pop up all around town and everyone you meet has an undeniable twinkle in their eye and skip in their step. While you make plans for an upcoming picnic or arts & crafts extravaganza, consider some special ways to spend quality time with your family that could have a lasting impact on all of you as well as the community where you live. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has compiled the following list to help you bring new meaning to the Spring season for your family…

1. Plant a Garden: April is Keep America Beautiful Month, so what better way to celebrate than by making your own little corner of America BEAUTIFUL? Add a little color to the flower beds around your house, start a vegetable garden in the backyard, and encourage your neighbors to help you breathe new life into your community entrance with the introduction of fresh plants and flowers.
2. Take Part in Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge: Not only does taking part in the nation’s largest community improvement program as a family come with the rewards of doing something GOOD for your community and the environment, but if your project is chosen as one of THREE LUCKY WINNERS to enjoy the rewards of CASH PRIZES. The Challenge ends May 31, so Learn more about Great American Cleanup and Start Working on Your Family Project.
3. Create Your Own Family Earth Day Celebration: Design a Farm-to-Table feast, make art from recycled materials, visit a local botanical garden, hike a path and pick up litter along the way…. The possibilities are virtually endless. Simply find a way to make Earth Day – April 22 – a special holiday that is observed by your family, year-after-year.
4. Start Cleaning Out Those Old Binders, Desk Drawers and File Cabinets:  On May 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, Gwinnett County Fiscal and Solid Waste Management Division and GCB are teaming up to host a FREE paper shredding event at Gwinnett Fairgrounds in celebration of Earth Day 2018. Have fun working together to declutter your home and then come see us on May 5^th!
5. Pull on some Old Clothes and Head Out to Great Gwinnett Wetlands: Great Gwinnett Wetlands returns to Bromolow Creek & Wetlands on April 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the 4th consecutive year. Event partners – GCB and Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources – want to give you a little inspiration to volunteer with this really cool video from last year’s event. In addition to highlighting WHAT we do during a wetlands cleanup event, it also outlines the many reasons WHY we should serve as stewards of our local wetlands. Ready to take part as a family? Learn more about Great Gwinnett Wetlands 2018. Note: Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older. Volunteers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
6. Adopt a Road or Stream: Families are eligible to take part in our Adopt-A-Road and Adopt-A-Stream Programs. In exchange for getting some fresh air while picking up litter along the stretch of roadway you adopt or monitoring the health of a local stream, you could receive signage for along your stretch of road declaring your family’s name as proud stewards of the roadway to passerby.
7. Shop a Farmers Market: Support local farmers by becoming regular patrons of a farmers market in your town. Not only is it a great way to find fresh fruit, vegetables and other products, but it’s also a terrific way to introduce your children to farming families and help maintain the livelihood of your neighbors. Long known as the “backbone of our nation,” farmers should be viewed as local treasures.
8. Start a Compost Pile in Your Backyard: Turn trash into treasure by getting the whole family involved in the age-old practice of composting. Composted materials are rich in nutrients that make a wonderful foundation for any garden. Learn how to start a compost pile in the backyard or indoors!
9. Encourage the Kids to Join or START a Green Team at their School: Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is extremely proud of our relationship with Gwinnett County Public Schools! GCPS has a growing number of schools that share the distinction of being Clean Air Schools, Green & Healthy Schools and/or part of our Plant It Forward garden initiative. Many of these schools have Green Teams that are dedicated to promoting earth-friendly practices at their school and out in the community. Ask your child if his/her school has a Green Team and if they might be interested in joining it.  If they DON’T have a Green Team, maybe he or she is the one to make it happen.
10. Be on the Lookout for Upcoming Cleanup/Recycling Events Around Town: Be sure to “like” Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and/or connect with us on Instagram to stay on top of the latest news involving earth-friendly events around town. Not a fan of social media? You can sign up to receive the GCB monthly newsletter or pay regular visits to our Events Page.

By taking part in some or all of the suggestions above, you’ll be teaching your children that they are not only inhabitants of this big beautiful planet we all share, but that they can play an active role in protecting it for future generations.