Wildlife and nature

Animal shelters and rescues

Theater and dance

Rivers, parks and trails

Hunger and food

Schools and learning

Housing and homelessness

Community health

Mental health

Mentoring and foster care

Legal help and rights

Jobs and money help

Atlanta

The Triangle

Everywhere

The Collective Workshop

Royal Animal Refuge

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta

Georgia Advancing Communities Together

Atlanta Writers Club

Cobb Collaborative

Bosleys Place

Jewish Fertility Foundation

We established Root Local in 2020 to inform and inspire Atlantans to have an active role in their community’s environmental and conservation efforts. Since day one, we have worked to guide the collective towards a shared vision for positive environmental impact and sustainability by serving as the metro Atlanta area’s backbone organization for collective impact.
We connected EMMA partner organizations re:loom and GreenBox Homes to collaborate for broader environmental impact. See our Collective Impact story .
Our partnership with World Wildlife Fund continues to produce engaging and educational events, such as Local to Global Solutions for Wasted Food event in 2023 and the Hope, Joy & Butterflies event in 2024.
Dekalb County Landfill visit gave a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at the largest waste facility in Atlanta. Mercedes-Benz Stadium Sustainability Tours are always a favorite. The tour showcases MBS’s commitment to Zero Waste and stands as a model for sustainable building practices in Atlanta.
We look for any opportunity to engage with our EMMA partner organizations , as they are the ones doing the work within the community. Picking Muscadines with Concrete Jungle is a perfect example. In conjunction with their organization, we were a part of picking and packing over 705 pounds of muscadines!
Root Local brings together environmental allies, finds opportunities for collective impact, connects stakeholders, and educates communities to conserve natural resources.

Give

Lee J. Dalton

Erica Walpole

Gray Vickery

Keegan Cross

Nancy Sagar

Vineeth Loganathan

Want to make your outdoor space a little greener? 🏡 This month, join Sustainable Landscape Design Workshops led by Dr. Richard Ludwig, former host of PBS’s @gardensmart and a 40+ year veteran of the green industry. Get hands-on with sustainable design, planting, stormwater management, rewilding, and more. Take one workshop or complete the four-course certificate series. A portion of the proceeds will support our environmental conservation programs. Interested in joining us? Let us know which workshops catch your eye (form link in bio). There’s no commitment yet, and we’ll keep you posted as dates are confirmed. #sustainablelandscaping #atlantaevents #sustainableliving

Keep the spooky. Skip some of the waste. 👻 A greener Halloween starts with a little creativity: • Costume: borrowed, swapped, or pulled from your closet. • Décor: last year’s favorites + a little DIY. • Candy bag: a tote or pillowcase you already own. • Pumpkin: skip paint and glitter if you plan to compost. Remove decorations and check your compost program’s rules. • November 1: save it, share it, or pass it along. No need for a perfectly zero-waste Halloween. Pick one swap and make it your own. Save this for your Halloween planning, and tell us your best DIY costume idea! #GreenHalloween #Reuse #RootLocal

This is what a second life looks like. 🎃 At our costume swap with @oaklandcemetery, 55 costumes were returned to the community instead of the landfill. 57 costumes came in. 125+ people came through. 17 swaps happened. 4 families came back for another year. One costume even made a full circle, picked up last year, returned this year, and found another child to enjoy it. The best part? Seeing these costumes on new kids, doing what costumes do best: making Halloween a little more fun. Thanks for donating, swapping, and showing up. We did this together. 💚 #costumeswap #rootlocal #sustainableatlanta #sustainabiliy

🌱 Looking for more sustainable ways to shop, grow, and live around Atlanta? EMMA is Atlanta’s Eco-Map for Metro Atlanta, making it easier to find and support local businesses taking meaningful steps toward sustainability. Find EMMA through the link in our bio. Own a sustainable Atlanta business? Apply to become an EMMA partner and get on the map. #sustainableatlanta #shoplocal #sustainable #sustainablefuture #sustainablelifestyle

👻 Quick update! The Costume Swap is now Saturday only. With rain in the forecast for Sunday, the Costume Swap at @oaklandcemetery will now be Saturday, October 3, from 10–3 only. It may rain tomorrow, so dress accordingly, but don’t let the weather stop you! Come find a new-to-you costume, pick out a pumpkin, and help keep perfectly good costumes in use and out of the waste stream. 📍 Oakland Cemetery 💚 Free Costumes #costumeswap #sustainableatlanta #atlantaevents

A greener Atlanta starts with connection. 🤝 Root Local began with a simple question: How can we make it easier to live sustainably in Atlanta? That question became a community of people, businesses, organizations, and ideas working toward a greener city. Through community events, trusted resources, environmental partnerships, and EMMA, Atlanta’s eco-map, we help connect Atlantans with more ways to turn awareness into action. And we can’t do it alone. If you believe in a greener Atlanta and want to help us keep building those connections, you can support Root Local through the link in our bio. #sustainableatlanta #sustainability #greeneratlanta

Board meeting, but make it a garden visit. 🌿 We recently gathered at @wyldecenter, an EMMA partner, for our board meeting and a little walkabout through Oakhurst Garden. We explored the newly built facility, greenhouse, raised beds, plant market, and porous pavers designed to help reclaim rainwater. But what we love most about Wylde is its focus on connecting people to nature through environmental education and public greenspace. 🌱 We’re proud to have Wylde Center as an EMMA partner and to help more Atlantans discover organizations like this through EMMA, Atlanta’s eco-map. Want to explore EMMA or learn how your organization can become a partner? Check out the link in our bio. #atlantasustainability #oakhurstgarden #atlantanonprofit #atlantagreen #ecoatlanta

⏰ Set your Saturday alarm! Clay Bolt, @world_wildlife’s pollinator conservation expert and one of our speakers at this year’s Think Natives First Plant Conference, will join @ashleyfrascawsb on Green & Growing this Saturday, September 19, from 6–7a. We can’t wait to hear their conversation about all things bees and Clay’s work in native plant and pollinator conservation. Early morning plans? Now you have some. 🐝 Tune in to 95.5 @wsbradio or listen online. Link in bio. And if you miss it, check back with Green & Growing for the replay!

Your old costume could be someone else’s perfect Halloween look. 🎃 Every year, thousands of Halloween costumes are worn once and tossed away. Let’s give them a second life. The Costume Swap is back for year two! Bring your gently used costumes and accessories to the @oaklandcemetery Visitor’s Center from now through Friday, October 2. Then, find something new-to-you for FREE during the Pumpkin Patch. 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 📍 Oakland Cemetery Visitor’s Center 🗓 September 9–October 2 | 10a–5p All sizes, kids & adults, welcome! 𝙎𝙬𝙖𝙥 & 𝙋𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 📍 Oakland Cemetery 🗓 October 3 & 4* | 10a–3p *𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘴! More details at the link in our bio. #SustainableHalloween #CostumeSwap

Look what showed up in our Executive Director's back yard today!! The Swamp Milkweed, Butterfly weed, and Joe Pye Weed - all the "weeds" - got a visit, or several, from this little lady. Will we see caterpillars next!? We'll keep you posted!

What a day! 🌿✨ The 2nd Annual Think Natives First Plant Conference, presented by @nativeforestnursery may be behind us, but what a fantastic one it was. Incredible speakers, amazing products and services, so much learning, and so many new connections made. This is exactly what makes conference days worthwhile. Reliving it all through photos of happy, engaged faces has us already itching to start planning for next year 👀 But first, we rest. Thank you to everyone who came out, presented, sponsored, and made this day so special. Enjoy the recap, and we'll see you next year! 💚 #ThinkNativesFirst #NativePlants #PlantConference #Grateful #SeeYouNextYear

🎉 Happy Birthday to Vineeth! We're so glad to have you as part of our board family! Thank you for your years with us, and here's to celebrating you today! 🎂

What a day. 🌿 Thank you to everyone who joined us for Think Natives First and helped make the event such a meaningful gathering of people who care about native plants and better landscapes. A special thank you to @starrwhitehouse for being a Session Sponsor, and to Aubrey Sabba and @stevenygren for sharing their time, knowledge, and perspective with us. To our attendees, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and partners: thank you for showing up and helping this community grow. We’re grateful to be building this together. 💚 More moments, memories, and people to celebrate are on the way. Stay tuned! #ThinkNativesFirst #NativePlants #NativeLandscapes

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