Effecting meaningful change requires a team effort, and Keep Pickens Beautiful recognizes our community’s team players through their Green Ribbon Award. This award is presented to local groups, companies, and organizations for extraordinary efforts to further KPB’s mission to reduce waste, beautify our community, and educate our citizens. As Amelia Earhart said, “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” Let’s do it together!
Keep Pickens Beautiful awards the August 2022 Green Ribbon to the Big Canoe POA. Big Canoe is famous for being a managed mountain community with scenic drives, well-maintained green spaces, an abundance of wildlife, and lots of outdoor amenities. KPB works closely with the Pickens County Recycling Center and has received reports regarding the volume they recycle, effectively diverting significant amounts of waste from the landfills. These were the initial reasons for awarding the POA the Green Ribbon. However, the KPB team learned there is much more happening within the Big Canoe community.
Ecological Foundation of Big Canoe
Beginning in 1972, rooted in ecological principals led by resident ecologist Dr. Robert Platt, the standards that are still practiced today were established. Upon speaking with the Big Canoe POA Director of Operations, Lydell Mack, KPB realized that many of Big Canoe’s principles support of the pillars of KPB’s mission, including beautification, environmental stewardship, and education.
Some of Big Canoe’s beautification initiatives include focusing on incorporating native plants into the landscape and eradicating invasive and non-native plants. This helps to maintain healthy ecosystems that require less maintenance while improving the biodiversity. The POA manages and maintains the public spaces to enhance the community and promote outdoor living. Additionally, there are more than 25 miles of hiking trails maintained through volunteerism.
The Big Canoe community recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship. For example, the POA enforces strict construction and other land disturbance regulations. This ensures that natural features are protected, streams and creeks aren’t altered, and trees, including their trunks and their roots are protected. After construction, erosion control measures must remain until the area is stabilized.
Additional examples of Big Canoe’s focus on environmental stewardship include being registered with the Atlanta Audubon Society as an official Wildlife Sanctuary and strict golf course water management and conservation practices. They have a wildlife and forestry management program that actively combats the woolly adelgid on their Hemlock trees, and the Black Bear Project promotes harmonious living with the area’s wildlife.
Educational opportunities are woven throughout the Big Canoe community to help the guests and residents better understand the intentions of the various programs and initiatives. Informative signs and brochures are available at trailheads, and the Parks and Trails of Big Canoe website offers additional details. Information is provided to guests and residents explaining the flora, fauna, and guidelines within the community.
Adopt-A-Road Volunteers
Keep Pickens Beautiful has had a long relationship with Big Canoe’s Wildflower Bunch Garden Club. In July of 2017, they adopted Steve Tate Highway though KPB’s Adopt-A-Road program. Since then, they have collected 14,866 gallons of garbage (or 496 30-gallon bags) and volunteered 435 hours. Just in 2022, the Wildflower Bunch has averaged 282 gallons of roadside trash collected and more than 6.5 volunteer hours per month. This Adopt-A-Road group has made a huge impact on keeping Pickens County clean.
As stated by Dr. Robert Platt, “Conservation begins with one flower and one person enjoying its undisturbed beauty and walking past….Property owners and their families expect to enjoy this natural beauty for a long, long time…. Because of our collective ownership, we have a great opportunity to develop for ourselves an ethic such that over the years we can continue to enjoy these natural areas and at the same time maintain their environmental quality. This is an attainable challenge. It comes down to each person treating the entire area as if it were his own home.”
Keep Pickens Beautiful thanks everyone in our community who helps to beautify, reduce waste, and educate. By working together, more will be achieved. Please submit nominees for future Green Ribbon Award recipients to KPB.