School Beautification Grants Available Thru Keep Dalton Whitfield Beautiful

(Dalton, GA, August 12, 2015) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the availability of School Beautification Grants for Fall 2015. 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 $250.

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 can organize projects.

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 Friday, September 4 at www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org using the form on the Beautification page. For questions regarding the form or any aspects of your proposed project call executive director Liz Swafford at 706-278-5001. Grant winners will be announced September 17. Projects must be completed by December 4 and a project summery is to be submitted by December 15.

2014 Billboard Design Contest Winner Announced

“I want to be recycled” is the overall winner for this year’s America Recycles Day Billboard contest.  The design was created by Eastbrook Middle School 7th grader Reina Paniagua.

Eastbrook Middle School 7th grader, Reina Paniagua, is the overall winner of the 2014 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School. 

The design chosen out of 162 entries includes the phrase “I want to be recycled” which was one of the themes of the contest.  The artwork is eye catching and very colorful with a group of recyclable materials shouting out their desire to be recycled in a blue speech bubble.  

The winning design will be displayed on two billboards in the Whitfield County area for at least one month.  This is the fifth year of the design contest open to Whitfield County middle school students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade attending either a public or private school that recycles with Target Recycling at School.

The billboard design contest had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner from each grade level.  The nine students, listed below, received a certificate of participation and a gift bag with items made from recycled materials. The first place overall was selected from the first place design from each grade level.

Eastbrook Middle School students who placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork. Top Row, Left to Right: Graviela Zamora, Citlally Garcia, Angela Torres, and Reina Paniagua. Bottom Row, Left to Right: Luis DeLeon, and Moises Gaspar.

6th grade:

• 1st Place – Angela Torres, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Yanira Guzman, Dalton Middle School
• 3rd Place – Leonardo Fraire, Dalton Middle School 

7th grade:

• 1st Place and Overall Winner – Reina Paniagua, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Graviela Zamora, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Citlally Garcia, Eastbrook Middle School 

Dalton Middle School students that placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork.  From Left to Right: Leonardo Fraire, Yanira Guzman, and Alondra Martinez.

8th grade:

• 1st Place – Luis DeLeon, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Moises Gaspar, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Alondra Martinez, Dalton Middle School

America Recycles Day is a community-driven event dedicated to promoting recycling awareness, commitment, and action in the U.S. thru its partnership with Keep America Beautiful.  For more information on recycling, and to take the pledge to recycle visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.   

  Target Recycling at School provides recycling collection services and environmental education opportunities to schools in Whitfield County.  For more information call 706-278-5001 or visit www.dwswa.org. 

5th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest Announced

The 5th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest is underway.  Pictured is the winning design of 2013 designed by Larissa Hernandez, a 7th grader from Dalton Middle School.

Middle Schoolers from Whitfield Co. Invited to Participate in 2014 Art Contest

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority is pleased to announce it’s 5th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders that attend either public or private schools participating in the Target Recycling at School program in Whitfield County.  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 for four weeks on two billboards in Whitfield County.

During the 2013 contest, Dalton Middle School 7th grader, Larissa Hernandez, won first place overall.  Her artwork, chosen out of 193 entries includes the phrase, “I Recycle Do You?” which included the America Recycles Day logo, in colorful letter blocks.

Themes for this year include, “I want to be recycled.”, and “I recycle with Recycling Ben!”  First, second, and third place prizes will be given in each of the three grade levels.  The grand prize is chosen from the three first place winners. 

The Contest Guide with an entry form can be downloaded at www.DWSWA.org.  Deadline for entries is Monday, November 10, 2014.  There is no entry fee, however an official entry form needs to be included with the artwork.  Only artwork submitted directly from a school representative will be accepted.  Winners will be announced on Monday, November 17, 2014. 

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

Local Schools Participate in Nationwide School Recycling Contest

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, has announced the winners of “Recycle-Bowl”, the first comprehensive nationwide recycling competition for elementary-, middle- and high-school students.  65 schools in Georgia participated at the state level recycling as much as possible during the weeks of October 15 to November 15, 2013.   At the state level, two local schools placed in the Top 5 in Georgia taking second, and third place.

Public and private schools in Whitfield County currently participate in Target Recycling at School, a free recycling collection service offered by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.  With the assistance of the DWSWA’s recycling center, 36 local schools were registered for the 3rd annual nationwide competition.  Each school received a kit to help promote recycling in their school with posters and educational activities. 

At the end of the competition period the weights of the recyclables collected at each school were reported to Recycle-Bowl staff.  The national winner was Foothill Elementary School in Pittsburg, California.  A full list of statewide winners can be found at www.Recycle-Bowl.org.  Below are the top five schools in the state of Georgia for Recycle-Bowl 2013:

Georgia’s Top 5 Recycle-Bowl Competitors:

1. Cass Middle School, Cartersville, GA

2. New Hope Middle School, Dalton, GA

3. Pleasant Grove Elementary, Dalton, GA

4. Robert Shaw Traditional Theme School, Scottdate, GA

5. Brighten Academy, Douglasville, GA

The total amount of school only recyclables recovered nationwide during the 2013 competition added up to 6.4 million pounds, which in turn prevented the release of nearly 8,913 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCE). In real-world terms, this reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from 473 passenger cars.

 “Inspiring young people to recycle at school reinforces the importance of recycling everywhere, whether at home or on the go,” said Jennifer Jehn, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “We are also pleased that so many schools use the competition to improve existing recycling programs or develop new ones that didn’t exist prior to their participation.”

2013 Billboard Design Contest Winner Announced

“I Recycle. Do You?” is the overall winner for this year’s America Recycles Day Billboard contest.  The design was created by Dalton Middle School 7th grader Larissa Hernandez.

(Dalton, GA, November 19, 2013) –  Dalton Middle School 7th grader, Larissa Hernandez, is the overall winner of the 2013 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School. 

The design chosen out of 265 entries includes the phrase, “I Recycle. Do You?” which was one of the themes of the contest.  The artwork is eye catching and very colorful with multicolored blocks of letters, and a recycling symbol.

The winning design will be displayed on two billboards in the Whitfield County area for at least one month.  This is the fourth year of the design contest open to Whitfield County middle school students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade attending either a public or private school that recycles with Target Recycling at School.

The billboard design contest had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner from each grade level.  The nine students, listed below, received a certificate of participation and a gift bag with items made from recycled materials.  The first place overall was selected from the first place design from each grade level.

6th grade:

• 1st Place – Alexis Lynch, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Nubia Loya, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Jenny Jimenez, Eastbrook Middle School 

7th grade:

• 1st Place and Overall Winner – Larissa Hernandez, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Laisha Rubio, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Gisselle Cisneros, Dalton Middle School 

8th grade:

• 1st Place – Mackenzie McDermott, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Angelina Calderon, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Elena Leyssens, Dalton Middle School

America Recycles Day is a community-driven event dedicated to promoting recycling awareness, commitment, and action in the U.S. thru its partnership with Keep America Beautiful.  For more information on recycling, and to take the pledge to recycle visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.   

Target Recycling at School provides recycling collection services and environmental education opportunities to schools in Whitfield County.  For more information call 706-278-5001 or visit the Environmental Education page.

Correction:  Ms. McDermott was incorrectly listed in the 8th grade category.  However, since prizes have been given and results announced, there will be no changes in the winners for this year.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Dalton Middle School students that placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork.  From Left to Right: Alexis Lynch, Elena Leyssens, Gisselle Cisneros, and Larissa Hernandez. 

Eastbrook Middle School students who placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork.  From Left to Right: Mackenzie McDermott, Laisha Rubio, Jenny Jimenez, Nubia Loya, and Angelina Calderon.