By: Claire Tribble
Now that we have thawed out, Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful is planning for a busy spring! Not only are we ready for warmer weather, but we are also ready to get to work! We will have plenty of volunteer opportunities beginning in March. There is more than enough work to be done all throughout Athens and Limestone County, and we hope that we can count on you!
Kicking off our spring crusade is the 6th Annual United Pest & Turf Control Spring Clean on March 16, 2024, in Ardmore. This is a citywide clean up that is organized beautifully by United Pest & Turf Control. Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful supports this event every year by providing supplies. United Pest & Turf Control provides breakfast for the amazing volunteers that work hard to keep their town looking great. Last year, volunteers collected over 1,000 pounds of litter from roadways, so this is a BIG event! If you want more information on this cleanup, you can call United Pest & Turf Control (256)423-7378. This cleanup is always a lot of fun to join!
The very next weekend, March 23, 2024, will be the TVA Trash Attack at the Tennessee River. We will be based at Cowford Campground again this year. Our focus will be the Cowford Campground, Hatchett Ridge Road, and Dairy Road. Last year, volunteers collected 7,820 pounds of trash from those three roads! Thanks to TVA funding, we will be providing breakfast and a “Thank You” gift to all volunteers. TVA will even be bringing a boat to help remove trash from the water. County Commissioner Derrick Gatlin and his crew will be there to pick up bags and larger pieces as we work! We can’t thank TVA and Commissioner Gatlin enough for their support!
Next up is our FAVORITE event of the year — the Earth Day Expo on April 20, 2024. TVA expert Damien Simbeck will kick off the morning with a guided nature walk at Marbut’s Bend. This is an amazing opportunity to learn more about native flora and fauna! It is always a fun and beautiful walk! We will be partnering with Athens State University again to bring Limestone County an even bigger event than before! Thanks to the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority, we already have Steve Trash — Rockin’ Eco Hero booked. We also received a grant from the DEKKO Foundation to bring a Soap Bubble Circus to Earth Day! We are excited to have even more vendors this year and exhibits! As always, admission is free, and we will have lots of free crafts and giveaways! We can’t wait to see you there!
We will have the Joann Christopher Memorial River Cleanup on March 23, 2024! This cleanup will be focused on the Elk River, where Joann led cleanups for decades. This is also a TVA sponsored event, so there will be breakfast and a “Thank You” gift for each volunteer. We are still determining the exact locations we will be focusing on for this cleanup, but we will announce as soon as we can.
We will be having a Household Hazardous Waste Collection in May. We have not set a date for the event, but like always, it will be a drive-thru event. So go ahead and start a pile as you begin spring cleaning! We will announce this date as soon as we set it.
By: Claire Tribble – Executive Director, Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful
April 19, 2024
