Keep Cobb Beautiful Receives $10K Grant

Children today spend more time indoors, disconnected from the natural world. The results are diseases like obesity and juvenile diabetes, social dysfunction and behavior issues. One solution? Get them into the garden!

Keep Cobb Beautiful (KCB)’s winning proposal focuses on expanding its current support of the “Dig ‘n the Dirt” Garden program to start or enhance existing learning gardens at Cobb County schools.  The program currently funds six schools and the goal is to expand the “Dig ‘N the Dirt” Garden program to four additional schools for a total of ten school programs in the 2011-2012 school year.  Applications to receive funding to participate in the program are open to all public, private, and alternative schools in Cobb County.  One hundred percent of grants received by KCB for this program are redistributed to the grantees.

Garden programs provide a dynamic environment where children can learn and play at the same time. They experiment, discover, gain confidence, build self-esteem, and gain an appreciation for the amount of work required to bring food to the table. They learn that tomatoes don’t grow behind the swinging doors in the grocery. They connect the relationships between math, science and the food they eat.

Thanks to the generosity of Waste Management and Lockheed Aeronautics, Keep Cobb Beautiful is able to offer these grants to public and private Cobb County schools. Whether you choose to plant an edible garden or a flower garden for butterflies and bees, when children are involved, the world is on track to becoming a healthier place. Children can overcome nature-deficit disorder with just a few hours of wonder in the garden.

"Waste Management funds the grant in partnership with Keep America Beautiful as part of a nationwide effort that encourages local solutions that improve community environments. Keep Cobb Beautiful won the grant for its "Dig in the Dirt" garden program for schools," Marla Prince, Community Relations Manager of Waste Management, told Northeast Cobb Patch.

Now in its fifth year, the merit-based program received proposals from 60 affiliates across the country. Each proposal featured innovative projects designed to increase individual awareness about the local environment through hands-on participation and engagement opportunities.

Waste Management supports KAB on numerous programs designed to increase recycling and support community sustainability. The company is also a strong supporter of Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup™, the nation’s largest community improvement program. 

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. 

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization.  This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.