On February 6, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Keep America Beautiful and Anheuser Busch announced the award of 20 mini-grants of up to $500 each to groups in 16 counties to support  volunteer initiatives ranging from river cleanups to invasive species removal.

Pennsylvania grant recipients used the funding to coordinate 75 events, including cleanups, stream stabilization projects, the creation of a rain garden, and a number of invasive species removal projects.

Cleanups resulted in the proper disposal of 103,040 pounds of trash and 889 tires and were coordinated in conjunction with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s International Coastal Cleanup of PA. Projects were completed in fall 2018.

Grant recipients included--
Allegheny County

-- Allegheny CleanWays – Allegheny River cleanup

-- Allegheny Watershed Alliance/Allegheny County Conservation District – Watershed cleanup

-- Montour Run Watershed – Montour Run Watershed cleanup  

-- South Side Chamber of Commerce - Historic South Side neighborhood cleanup

Beaver County

-- Tri-County CleanWays/Allegheny Aquatic Alliance - 7th annual Connoquenessing Creek cleanup

Blair County

-- Keep Blair County Beautiful - Construction of a rain garden to mitigate storm water erosion

Bucks County

-- Churchville Nature Center - Churchville Reservoir stream cleanup and invasive removal

-- Silver Lake Nature Center - Silver Lake waterway cleanup

Centre County

-- Keep Centre County Beautiful - Bald Eagle State Park Cleanup

Clinton County

-- Clinton County CleanScapes - West Branch Susquehanna River/Greater Jersey Shore and Valley Creekbank Cleanup

Cumberland County

-- PA CleanWays of Cumberland County/Conodoguinet Creek Watershed Association – Three creek cleanups

Erie County

-- Keep Erie County Beautiful – Cleanup of 18 sites 

Huntingdon County

-- Keep Huntingdon County Beautiful – Juniata River cleanup 

Lehigh County

-- Keep Allentown Beautiful - Little Lehigh Creek land stabilization

McKean County

-- PA CleanWays of McKean County - Kinzua Creek streambank stabilization

Monroe County

-- Keep Northeastern PA Beautiful - County-wide visitors bureau cleanup

Montgomery County

-- Upper Merion Township - Upper Merion stream cleanup

Philadelphia County

--Keep Royal Gardens Beautiful - Cobbscreek/Darby Watershed litter and invasive removal

Union County

-- Lewisburg Neighborhoods Corporation – Lewisburg River Town fall cleanups

Venango County

-- PA CleanWays of Venango County - Allegheny River cleanup and stream stabilization

Keep Philadelphia Beautiful was independently awarded a grant to collaborate with the Philadelphia Water Department and social enterprise United by Blue to conduct the second annual river cleanup at the Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Philadelphia. The cleanup was a registered Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful event.

“Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is honored to receive this funding from Keep America Beautiful- Anheuser Busch that allowed us to provide resources at the local level, where it is needed. We are thankful to all the groups and their volunteers for improving our watersheds and neighborhoods, whether through cleanups, invasive plant removal or streambank stabilization,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “Healthy watersheds and neighborhoods improve the quality of life for people and the overall environment.”

Anheuser-Busch is a founding partner of Keep America Beautiful and has supported the organization’s efforts for more than 65 years. Nationwide, a total of $95,000 was awarded in this watershed program.

The Keep America Beautiful/Anheuser-Busch Watershed Grant Program supports the water stewardship component of the company’s U.S. 2025 Sustainability Goals, which were recently announced.

Anheuser-Busch’s sustainability efforts in the U.S. through 2025 include water stewardship, renewable electricity and carbon reduction, smart agriculture and circular packaging.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website. Click Here to become a member.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.

Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s Electronics Waste website.

Sign up now for the 2019 Great American Cleanup of PA and volunteer or set up your own cleanup and beautification event runs March 1 to May 31.

(Photo: Keep Allentown Beautiful Little Lehigh Creek land stabilization project.)

[Posted: Feb. 6, 2019]

2/11/2019