Beautification Projects Grants Announced For Local Schools

Grant Applications Now Open

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the availability of School Beautification Grants for Fall 2020. The committee for Beautification and Community Greening has established mini-grants in celebration of National Planting Day. Beautification grants may range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $400.

Previous Grant Winner, Dalton Middle School, poses before receiving their check.

Public and private schools in the Dalton, GA and Whitfield County area are invited to apply for funding that can help implement a project related to planting native plants. A school club, a single classroom, whole grade level or the entire school may organize a project and apply for a grant.

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is making these grants available to improve the visual aspects of our community through projects that beautify and clean the environment.

Knowing that children play a very important part in making this happen we want them to reap the benefits by participating in a project for their very own school. Beautification projects could include establishing or supporting a school garden, planting flowers in an outdoor space, or using plants for educational purposes.

Grant applications must be submitted online no later than October 23rd at www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org using the form on the Beautification Grant Application page.  Previous projects can be seen on the School Beautification Projects Page. 

For questions regarding the form or any aspects of your proposed project call executive director Amy Hartline at 706-278-5001.  Grant winners will be announced on October 30, 2020.  Projects should take place in the fall and be completed no later than Tuesday, January 19, 2020. At the end, grantees will submit a short project summary that will include volunteer hours, actual costs, list of other organizations involved, evaluation of project meeting the goal/purpose intended, and before and after photos. 10% of the grant will be held by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful until the report is submitted. Certificates of participation for students are available upon request - a list of student names must be sent in with the summary.

Girl Scout Gold Award Project: Art CAN Inspire

One Girl Scout Creates Beautiful Art and Conquers Litter at the Same Time.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful was so honored when Abbie Burt, a local Dalton High School Catamount senior, approached us with her idea for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project to decrease litter and beautify our town. Abbie wanted to tackle litter and create beautiful and colorful art throughout the community at the same time by wrapping trash cans with bright, colorful works of art to draw the eye to where trash is supposed to go.

This form of public art helped bring joy to the community when they passed by whether at Burr Park, Haig Mill Park, or the Mill at Crown Gardens. It’s an unexpected place for public art which is part of what sparks that happiness, but that unexpected place will help make a big difference in the community. Dalton is a watershed which means that every piece of litter you see that doesn’t get picked up ends up as marine debris. By encouraging people to engage with the trash bins, people are more likely to put trash where it goes and less likely to litter. Abbie started working on this back in November, but unfortunately with COVID-19, experienced setbacks and long periods of waiting. We think this project was worth the wait though!

Abbie shared a few words with us about how she came up with this idea, why she cares, and her success;

“I wanted to thank everyone in the community for their interest in my Art CAN Inspire project and for those who have taken the time to make sure to use the decorated cans at The Mill at Crown Gardens, Burr Park, and Haig Mill to decrease litter in our community. I care tremendously about this project because I care about my community and the well-being of this world. In today’s world, people do not know what the future holds when it comes to climate change, decreasing natural resources, and the overflow of trash in the ocean/world. Even though my project will make an unnoticeable change in the world’s statistics, it will make a noticeable change in my community. Change has to start somewhere, and something is better than nothing in terms of litter prevention. My hope is that this project served God and my country because it prevents littering and teaches people about the consequences of littering. ”

Visit Abbie at at.can.inspire on Instagram or Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful on Facebook to see all of the designs.

Facilities Closed in Observance of Labor Day

Facilities closed in observance of Labor Day

Four Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority facilities will be closed on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 in observance of Labor Day.

All locations will be closed September 7, 2020 on Monday and will open from 7 am to 6 pm on September 8, 2020, Tuesday.

Locations include;

• Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center

• McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center

• Westside Convenience Center

• M.L. King Convenience Center.

All locations will be open on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more information visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

America Recycles Day Billboard Contest Announced for Fall 2020

2019'S WINNER, MARIA MALDANADO’S CLEAN AND CLEVER BILLBOARD.

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority is pleased to announce the 11th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders attending public or private schools participating in the Target Recycling at School program in Whitfield County. This year, students can participate whether they are attending classes virtually or in person.

Students are invited to design a billboard in keeping with the spirit of America Recycles Day, which is celebrated yearly on November 15. The top design out of the three grade levels will be displayed during the month of November on two billboards in Whitfield County.

 The artwork is easy to design at home because students only need one piece of 8.5” by 11” white paper and coloring tools. This way, parents of middle school students staying at home this semester can have them compete as well.

Schools in Whitfield County eligible to participate include Eastbrook Middle, New Hope Middle, North Whitfield Middle, Valley Point Middle, Westside Middle, Dalton Middle, Northstar School, Crossroads Academy, Christian Heritage School, and Learning Tree School.

During the 2019 contest, Eastbrook Middle School 8th grader, Maria Maldando, won first place overall. Her design includes the phrase, “I Recycle, Do You?” which was one of the themes of the contest. The artwork is clean and easy to read. It plays with the typography to create neat imagery that reminds us that by recycling we help save our trees and the overall planet.

(See previous winning billboard designs here.)

Themes for this year are, “I want to be recycled!” and “I recycle with Recycling Ben!” First, second, and third place prizes will be given in each of the school’s entrants. The grand prize is chosen from each of the first-place winners. 

The Contest Guide with two versions of the official entry form can be downloaded at www.DWSWA.org. The deadline for entries is October 12, 2020. There is no entry fee, however, an official entry form needs to be included with the artwork. Winners will be announced on October 19. 

For more information contact Amy Hartline, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001 or e-mail: ahartline@dwswa.org. To learn more about America Recycles Day visit www.americarecyclesday.org.

Harvey Levitt Receives SWANA Life Member Award

During his time at DWSWA, Harvey would give tours of the grounds and describe the thought and work that went into each decision at DWSWA.

Harvey Levitt, a former Operations Manager at the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, has been awarded the Solid Waste Authority of North America’s (SWANA) Life Member Award by The International Awards Committee and the SWANA Board of Directors.

SWANA has awarded Harvey, “for [his] long involvement and contributions to the Solid Waste Association of North America and to the field of municipal solid waste management.” This award also gifts Harvey with a full membership in SWANA and its chapters, without charge, from this point forward.

Mr. Levitt has more than 25 years of experience in solid waste management in both the private and the public sector. He helped create the Target Recycling program that helps all Whitfield County schools and over 250 community businesses participate in recycling. He served for 18 years at DWSWA, overseeing a very successful solid waste management program, before retiring in December 2012. 

Georgia Chapter President Suki Janssen nominated Harvey for this award and described, “how training participants love [his] ‘patient, kind and calm demeanor and solid waste knowledge.’” Harvey has previously received the “Professional Achievement Award-Public Sector” by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) in the past.

The prestigious SWANA Life Member Award may only be given to one member per year. Consideration for the award includes the member’s length of service, commitment to SWANA and its chapters, and superior commitment and service to his employer. After his dedication and valuable impact for DWSWA and the community, he is fully deserving of this award. 

About SWANA: SWANA is an organization of more than 10,000 public and private sector professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management through their shared emphasis on education, advocacy and research. For more than 50 years, SWANA has been the leading association in the solid waste management field. SWANA serves industry professionals through technical conferences, certifications, publications, and a large offering of technical training courses.

The Authority Board meeting including members from the Dalton City Council and Whitfield County Commissioners pictured with Harvey and former director Norman Barashick