Through funding from H-E-B and Central Market, Keep Mansfield Beautiful is one of 10 affiliate communities sharing $25,000 in Big Green Grant money to support educational and programmatic opportunities relating to sustainability, recycling, litter prevention, beautification, and water conservation.
Keep Mansfield Beautiful will use its grant to create butterfly gardens at three Mansfield ISD school campuses. The project will focus on the Monarch butterfly, as it was recently added to the endangered species list. The addition of specific plants to these gardens will provide the first steps needed to become official Butterfly Waystations.
“These funds will provide hands-on learning opportunities for students at three schools as they prepare, maintain, and monitor butterfly gardens on their campuses,” says Mansfield Public Education Specialist, Rebecca Sales. “Students will learn about the importance of native and adaptive plants, and the role these plants play in supporting pollinator life cycles, especially the Monarch Butterfly that has recently been added to the endangered species list.”
To assist with the implementation of the project, Mansfield has received $3,000 to begin and support its proposed community project. The butterfly gardens will be located at Tarver Rendon Elementary, Donna Shepard Leadership Academy, and Linda Jobe Middle School. Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) will also provide additional social media marketing support. Keep Mansfield Beautiful will complete its project by July.
Founded in 2008 following the Great Mansfield Cleanup, Keep Mansfield Beautiful offers programs to make the community a cleaner, greener, more beautiful place to live, work, and play. Since its formation, Keep Mansfield Beautiful has delivered more than $400,000 in volunteer labor, cash donations, grants, and in-kind donations to the city of Mansfield.
In addition to Mansfield, the affiliate communities of Laredo, Levelland, Midland, Missouri City, Palacios, Pharr, Sugar Land, Real County, and Waco also received a Green Bag Grant.
“We are thankful for sponsors like H-E-B who support our efforts to clean and beautify communities around Texas,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of KTB. “We were excited by the diversity of proposals we received, and cannot wait to see the projects our affiliates are able to complete with help from our Green Bag Grants.”
To learn more about KTB resources and opportunities or to get involved with your local affiliate, visit ktb.org.
