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Green

Can you BELIEVE there are fewer than 10 WEEKS left until 2026 comes to an end? Let's finish the year GREEN! Next month, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful will play host to our annual America Recycles Day at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on November 7 from 9AM to noon. Follow the link in our bio to learn what items we will accept and make plans to be there - either as a volunteer or a participant! #AmericaRecyclesDay

On this #WorldTeachersDay, we'd like to give a shout-out to all the Gwinnett County Public Schools Teachers, especially those who have embraced Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful's Green and Healthy Schools Program. Thank you for your passion and commitment to fostering an up-and-coming generation of environmental stewards!

It's National Food Waste Prevention Week (FWPW). Did you know that over 500,000 tons of food are thrown away in US schools each year? Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is proud to team up with the World Wildlife Fund to change that in our community through our Green and Healthy Schools Program and our Food Waste Warriors Initiative. Cutting this waste is a team effort, and dedicated students and teachers are already hard at work implementing solutions that rescue food and save resources. #NationalFoodWastePreventionWeek #FoodWasteWarriors #WWF

A joint initiative of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Public Schools, Green and Healthy Schools (GHS) provides integrated environmental education that incorporates applications of Science AKS, problem-solving, civic skills, and green career pathways. On September 17th, the Green and Healthy Schools program hosted approximately 100 teachers for our Annual Kick-Off at Grayson Tech High School. Dr. Marshall Shepherd spoke, and teachers networked with community partners and attended breakout sessions to learn about programs they can implement in their schools. Each GHS representative was also treated to gifts, door prizes, and a catered dinner. It was a wonderful evening, and we're already looking forward to our GHS Spring Meeting on March 30th at Murphy Middle School.

Please join us in congratulating our friends at the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources for being recognized with NINE National Association of Counties Achievement Awards! These awards honor innovative programs that strengthen operations, develop employees, and enhance service for our community. DWR's award-winning initiatives include: • Effective Utility Management Framework • Green Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Initiative • Water Information Management System • Art of Construction Management Training Program • CDL Boot Camp Training Program • Thank a Water Worker Campaign • Empowered to Serve Campaign • Remote Dam Monitoring Study • Water Distribution In-House Model Calibration Project Way to go!!! We appreciate you all and thank you for your hard work to manage and maintain the publicly owned water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure for our rapidly growing population, while providing clean water for Gwinnett County at an excellent value.

We know these two are awesome, but we love it when others recognize how great they are! Please join us in congratulating Brenda McDaniel and Jay Bassett for being honored at the Global Sustainability Awards! GC&B Executive Director Schelly Marlatt was proud to attend the event, hosted at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. While there, she and Brenda enjoyed hearing from and meeting panelists like Swamy Boggarapu, Sr. Manager, Finance, ESG, & Enterprise Strategy at Capgemini. Based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Brenda received an SDG Super Educator Award for inspiring young minds to embrace sustainability through our Green & Healthy Schools program. Jay's award was centered around SDG 17 - "Partnerships for the Goals" - recognizing his unwavering commitment to fostering collaborations that create positive change for people and the planet.

Tomorrow is #NationalTailgatingDay! No matter your school colors, keep your tailgate party GREEN with these quick, easy tips... 🏈 Shop Local and Pack Fresh: By shopping for your tailgate party locally, and gathering some of your items from the farmers market or fruit stand up the road – you will drive fewer miles AND be supporting your neighboring farmer at the same time! Fresh tomatoes, watermelon, blueberries, jams, nuts, breads, and cheese all make terrific additions to any tailgate party! If you plan to grill out, consider buying organic beef from a farmer or butcher near you. 🏈 Say YAY to Melamine: Did you know a plastic fork can take hundreds of years to decompose? Ditch the single-use utensils, cups, and plates for reusable options this tailgate season. The FDA has deemed melamine food-safe, so it's a great unbreakable, reusable alternative. 🏈 Put Litter in its Place: After your tailgate party has ended, be sure to police the area for litter. Place all of your trash in the nearest trash receptacle, but in the event that it’s full from all of the other tailgate tents – it’s always wise to pack a trash bag so you can haul your trash home, if necessary. Unless there is a recycling bin present, you may also want to pack up all recyclable items and take them home to your own recycling bin.

Today marks the LAST DAY to submit applications for our Green Youth Advisory Council - Class of 2026-2027! High school students in Gwinnett - be sure to get yours in for this one-of-a-kind environmentally centered, community-focused youth leadership program before midnight. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and apply! #EcoInfluencer #YouthLeadership #ScholarshipOpportunity

APPLICATIONS FOR OUR 2026-2027 GREEN YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL CLOSE MONDAY, 8/31 BEFORE MIDNIGHT! Gwinnett High School Students... Don't miss your chance to be an impactful eco-influencer and community ambassador! Follow the link in our bio to complete your application today! #SharingIsCaring - please pass this post along to the high school students in your life!

Thank you to the 11 AWESOME volunteers from LDAC Kappa Alpha Psi for conducting an Adopt-A-Road cleanup last month! They cleared a stretch of Sugarloaf Pkwy, Scenic Hwy, and Hwy 20 of 12 big bags of litter! Follow the link in our bio if your group, company, school, church, or neighborhood is interested in learning about becoming an Adopt-A-Road partner!! #MondayMotivation #AdoptARoad

Our Adopt-A-Road partners come in all ages - from young students and scouts to active adults and senior citizens! Thank you to the 10 student volunteers from SKA Academy in Duluth for cleaning a stretch of Buford Hwy, North Berkeley Lake Road, and Main Road - ridding our community of an estimated 50 pounds of litter! We welcome YOU to consider becoming an Adopt-A-Road partner, too! It's an excellent community outreach activity for businesses, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and groups. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register to #AdoptARoad!

Last week, we held our first Adopt-A-Stream macroinvertebrate workshop of the year! We had 8 participants come out to the beautiful Harbins Park where we sampled the stream for these aquatic bugs and found a wide variety of species. Macroinvertebrates are important bioindicators because their presence, absence, and varying tolerances to pollution reflect the long-term health and water quality of our local aquatic ecosystems. Because of the interest in this class, we are planning to host another one before the end of the year. More information on that soon! Our next Adopt-A-Stream workshop - covering bacterial monitoring - is scheduled for October 29 from 1-4 p.m. at the Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful office. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register today! #AdoptAStream #VolunteerOpportunity #WaterQuality #DoBeautifulThings #GwinnettCleanandBeautiful #GoGreenGwinnett #SustainableGwinnett

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! We are currently seeking volunteers for the upcoming Great Days of Service on October 16, between 9 a.m. and noon! Follow the link in our bio to learn more and sign up to be a Stormwater Protector today! Can't make it that day, but still want to help? You can make an impact by spreading the word to other prospective volunteers! #sharingiscaring #volunteeropportunity #stormwaterprotectors #callforvolunteers

We were delighted to once again attend the annual Water Innovation & Leadership Student Summit, hosted by our friends at The Water Tower. Over 175 high school students spent the day exploring hands-on careers across the water industry. Groups rotated through our Adopt-A-Stream station, where our very own Garret Dufty partnered with Gwinnett Water Resources to show students how we monitor stream chemistry and local macroinvertebrate bug populations!

We had a BLAST at the 17th Annual Public Safety Fall Festival and the 3rd Annual Peach State Motorcycle Rodeo last weekend! We were thrilled to see so many wonderful neighbors join us at Gwinnett Field in Lawrenceville for a fun-filled day celebrating our community and the dedicated public safety professionals who serve it. We’re proud to have been part of this great event, and we're already looking forward to NEXT year!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! The 11th Annual Yellow River Trash Bash is less than a month away! Register to volunteer today, and we'll see you at your chosen cleanup location, Yellow River Park or Lilburn City Park, on Saturday, November 14! Follow the link in our bio to learn more and sign up. #MondayMotivation #VolunteerOpportunity

On this #ThankfulThursday, we'd like to thank the six volunteers from St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church for conducting an Adopt-A-Road cleanup last month! They removed an estimated 60 pounds of litter from Boggs Road, Meadowbrook Parkway, and Duluth Highway! Since this was their third cleanup of the year, they noticed a significant decrease in litter between their last cleanup in May and this one! Way to #KeepItCleanGwinnett! If your church, school, neighborhood, company, or group would like to learn how to #AdoptARoad, follow the link in our bio!

The Yellow River Trash Bash is ONE MONTH AWAY! Make plans to join us on November 14 at your choice of Yellow River Park or Lilburn City Park for this 11th annual cleanup event! Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register to #volunteer!

GC&B Executive Director Schelly Marlatt attended CFNEG's annual Good2Give Celebration with her parents and son, Grayson, earlier this month. As part of its purpose to connect people who care with causes that matter, CFENG gathered a room full of Gwinnett County leaders who donated more than $466K to combat food insecurity, offer mental health service support, and improve our world through the power of philanthropy. As the head of one of CFNEG's fundholders, Schelly felt truly blessed to be part of such an inspirational evening that embodied our community at its best.

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who came out to participate in The Great Southeast Pollinator Census at Preston C. Williams Gateway Park in the Gas South District! It was a beautiful day in Gwinnett County to get outside and spend time with our pollinator friends. We had an amazing afternoon and are so grateful to everyone who helped make the event a success. A special thank you to UGA Extension’s Lisa Klein for helping us lead the charge and make the day so meaningful! Another successful event in the books! 🐝🦋🌸

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON! There are only two weekends between now and America Recycles Day! That's two weekends to collect your tires, paint, electronics, gently used clothing and sneakers for recycling, and paper for shredding. We hope to see YOU at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on Saturday, November 7, between 9 a.m. and noon with the items you've collected in tow! Follow the link in our bio to learn more about accepted items or register as a volunteer to help haul items from vehicles and organize collected items! #AmericaRecyclesDay #CommunityRecyclingEvent #MotivationMonday #Volunteer

Congratulations to all the Gwinnett County Public Schools Teachers of the Year! We were delighted to learn that SIX of them have ties to our Green and Healthy Schools program - whether in the past or as part of our newest crew! Please join us in giving a BIG BEAUTIFUL round of applause to the following stellar standouts: 🍎 Nita Creekmore – Pharr ES : Language Arts Teacher (5th grade) 🍎 Lisa Levengood – Grayson ES – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Teacher (K-5) 🍎 Chad Stern – Simpson ES: Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Teacher (5th Grade) 🍎 Amanda Dodd – Lovin ES: Music Teacher (Pre-K to 5) 🍎Rebekah Spratlin – Lanier MS: Science Teacher (7th) 🍎 Cathleen Eckholm - McClure Health Science HS: Special Education Interrelated Resource – Mathematics Teacher (9-12) Thank you for your dedication to your students, your school communities, and the Green and Healthy Schools program!

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Congratulations to all the Gwinnett County Public Schools Teachers of the Year!