When you see volunteers picking up litter on the beach or planting trees for a community improvement project, it’s often due to the efforts of Keep Pinellas Beautiful (KPB). An affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, the group works with the public for litter prevention, waste reduction, conservation, and beautification and community greening.
Executive Director Patricia DePlasco joined Keep Pinellas Beautiful in 2015. Previously, she was a teacher for 25 years and then worked as education director and development director for Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful. “We have grown exponentially during the past eight years,” DePlasco says. “In 2014 we had 250 projects and 2,800 volunteers. Today we have over 1,500 projects and 20,000 volunteers.”
Keep Pinellas Beautiful is financed through Pinellas County and receives numerous sponsorships from local businesses for special events. A team of dedicated, passionate staff members help to educate the public and recruit volunteers.
Current Projects
The number of ongoing projects led by KPB are almost too numerous to mention. Here are just a few ways you too can get involved:
Community Improvement Projects: KPB works with community leaders and churches, schools, and businesses to organize projects throughout Pinellas County. They can include cleanups, Florida native species plantings and gardens, tree plantings, invasive species removals, and mulching. KPB will provide the necessary training and supplies for any event, and sponsorship is always welcome for larger initiatives.
Hospitality Eco-Partnership Program: “We appreciate the fact that so much of our local economy revolves around the hospitality industry, so we decided to form a partnership with hotels,” DePlasco reports. With grant funding, KPB provides staff education and training on stormwater debris and coastal environments, ecotours, and volunteer activities for staff and guests. Eco-friendly sample products such as pocket ashtrays and reusable straws are distributed.
Adopt-A-Mile Program: This free program is a great opportunity for individuals, groups and corporations to give back to their communities in a highly visible way. Participants adopt an area of Pinellas County and receive the training and materials necessary to host their own cleanups. “Adoptions greatly enhance the appearance of our communities and go a long way in reducing litter and debris from entering our waterways and polluting the natural habitats of our native wildlife,” DePlasco says.
Opportunities for Students of All Ages: KBP works closely with schoolchildren throughout Pinellas County to provide free educational presentations in class, after school, or through experiential learning opportunities. They do gardening projects with Florida friendly-plants. In the “Kids Can” program, they do cleanups and visit educational stations with partners such as the Audubon Society and Turtle Trackers. KPB also works with high school chapters of Keep Pinellas Beautiful that do all kinds of environmental projects. Students can receive credit for community service-hours that KPB tracks for them.
Future Events
The 2022 International Coastal Cleanup takes place at a variety of sites throughout the County during September and October. You can visit the Keep Pinellas Beautiful website to see the complete schedule and volunteer. The next Great American Cleanup is scheduled for March 1 through June 30, 2023. You won’t want to miss the chance to play golf at the Countryside Country Club Tournament in Clearwater beginning at 7 a.m. on October 17. As one of Keep Pinellas Beautiful’s main fundraisers, the day will include breakfast, an awards lunch, putting contest, Hole In One contest, 50/50 opportunity, prizes, and a special gift for participating. Additional sponsors are more than welcome. DePlasco wants people to know “it’s not difficult to keep Pinellas beautiful if everybody does just a little bit.”
Please visit www.kpbcares.org for a complete list of future clean-ups and other events. Donations and volunteers are welcome.
