Keep Martin Beautiful in Friends & Neighbors

Featured in Friends & Neighbors of Martin County by Tiffany Kincaid

If you’ve ever picked up a piece of litter and thought, “More people should do this to keep the community looking beautiful,” there’s good news.

Keep Martin Beautiful is a local, nonprofit, environmental organization that harnesses the energy and passion of volunteers to make a difference in Martin County. The work our volunteers engage in is tangible and impactful. Activities like removing marine debris and litter from our beaches and parks. Revitalization and beautification projects in vulnerable neighborhoods such as Golden Gate, Banner Lake, and Booker Park. 

Founded in 1994, Keep Martin Beautiful is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Florida Beautiful. Even though it’s before my time, I know many of you will remember the famous television commercial with the Native American (Iron Eyes Cody) on the side of the road surrounded by litter with a tear streaming down his cheek. It was the most recognizable public service announcements of all time and part of the environmental movement that began in the 1970s and continues to this day.

Great American Cleanup? That’s Keep Martin Beautiful. International Coastal Cleanup? That’s Keep Martin Beautiful. Adopt-A-Road? Yes, that’s also us. And many other small but meaningful projects taken on by individuals or neighborhoods are also supported with KMB supplies and materials and promotional support.

Keep Martin Beautiful gathers data about these efforts, which paint a picture of a community serious about picking up trash, reducing waste, and being good stewards of our environment.  In the past year alone, more than 1,500 volunteers collected nearly 10,000 pounds of litter and donated about $100,000 of time in service to Martin County.

This important work only happens because of the dedication of committed people and organizations willing to get involved. To showcase some of those who have been especially active in environmental efforts during the past year, Keep Martin Beautiful hosts the Environmental Stewardship Awards. This year, the Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 28, at Sailfish Point Oceanfront Club.

Do you know someone making a difference to improve our environment who deserves to be recognized?  Has your business made new technological choices to be more energy or water efficient? Is there a beautification or community improvement project your civic or youth group recently completed?  Now is your opportunity to recognize them - or even give yourself some credit! There is no fee to submit a nomination and self-nominations are welcome. Nomination forms, previous year’s winners, and other details are available on our website.

I hope for those of you not already familiar with Keep Martin Beautiful that this gives you a sense of what our organization does. There are many ways you can get involved and we look forward to sharing more details about our programs and activities in future columns. Until then, please contact us at info@keepmartinbeautiful.org, 772-781-1222, or visit our website at www.keepmartinbeautiful.org