as originally published in the Pickens County Progress
This past Saturday, Keep Pickens Beautiful had an amazing kick-off event for this year’s Great American Cleanup. We had a combination of KPB volunteers and board members, volunteers from the Downtown Development Authority, and City of Jasper employees. With all these helping hands, the garden spaces on Main Street were cleared out, the gardens in the Pickens Progress parking lot were cleaned up, and the garden behind the Historic Kirby-Quinton Cabin was cleaned up and partially replanted. It was a warm, beautiful day – perfect for playing in the dirt while helping to beautify downtown Jasper. Thank you to everyone who came out to help!
A central focus on Keep Pickens Beautiful is collaboration. This first Great American Cleanup event is the perfect example of what can be accomplished when we all work together. As stated by author John Heywood, “Many hands make light work,” and this past Saturday demonstrated what’s possible with some teamwork.
During the month of April, KPB will continue to enhance downtown Jasper as we grow and improve the Edible Jasper gardens. Most gardens will be populated with herbs and other perennials with an emphasis on including plants that need little or no maintenance. As you’re strolling through town, you’ll be greeted with good smells, pretty foodscaping, and, especially behind the Quinton Cabin, delicious things to snack on. All these gardens are here for the community to enjoy!
Our next Edible Jasper workshop will be on April 16. This workshop will focus on adding the hundreds of plants that our board members have been growing from seed all winter. We have rosemary, lavender, sage, dill, oregano, creeping thyme, marigolds, kales, and many more that are busting out of their pots and are ready to get in the ground. Come get your hands dirty with us!
Another central KPB focus is on building community. We could easily hire a team of laborers to do all this work for us, but that would take the fun out of it! Yes, we all have busy schedules. Yes, sometimes it’s hard work. But at the end of the day, when our volunteers step back from what’s been done, there’s an amazing feeling of satisfaction that we, as a team, have made a difference in our community. And in the process, have met some wonderful neighbors who have become new friends. The added benefit is that every time our volunteers pass the project they helped with, they have a personal connection and a sense of pride.
The next Great American Cleanup event is this Saturday, April 9th. Roadside trash has always been an issue; our Adopt-A-Road volunteers and the county inmates who help with pickups do a lot to address this challenge. Let’s give them a hand! Join us on Saturday from 10:00-12:00 as we clean up Carver Mill Road. Details are available on our website and on our Facebook group. Come lend a hand, make a difference in our community, and meet some new friends!For more information about Keep Pickens Beautiful and to learn how you can become part of the team, visit KeepPickensBeautiful.org. We look forward to seeing you soon!