The History of KDB
If you mention Keep Denton Beautiful (KDB) to a Dentonite, you’ll likely get a story about how they received a free tree from us, or how they love our murals around town. KDB’s history expands over three decades of beautification efforts. In 1987, Denton’s City Council saw a need to beautify their small college town. At that time, Denton had just over 65,000 residents, a third of which were college students. The Council formed a Blue Ribbon Task Force made up of twenty council-appointed individuals whose goal was to improve the appearance of entrance-ways to the city and boost the overall image of Denton. Soon the task force morphed into an 11-to-13 member commission, later renamed Keep Denton Beautiful (KDB). In 1996, KDB achieved their 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and established an 11 volunteer Board of Directors and eventually added three full-time staff members to run KDB’s day-to-day operations. More than 30 years later, KDB continues its efforts to engage the community in creating a clean and beautiful Denton.
Litter Prevention + Abatement
Decades after KDB’s very first litter cleanup, the Great American Cleanup (GAC) remains our longest-running event. The first cleanup in 1987 was along University Drive, a major thoroughfare in Denton, across from a Sonic Drive-In. The Sonic workers noticed the volunteers and offered them lunch coupons as a “thank you” for their efforts – KDB’s first lunch donation! With its first city-wide cleanup effort, KDB created connections with Dentonites that would remain strong with the organization for years to come. More than 2,000 volunteers participate each year, and in 2018, we collected nearly 9.5 tons of litter from Denton’s parks, roadways, and waterways. The GAC concludes with a large volunteer party complete with live music, bounce houses, and a free lunch donated by local restaurants.
Beautification
KDB’s largest event, the Denton Redbud Festival just celebrated its 25th year! The annual Redbud Festival is Denton’s official Arbor Day event, held each spring. Attendees of all ages can learn about tree planting and other topics through free workshops, socialize and receive free trees and home improvement materials.
The first Redbud Day was held in 1994, but prior to this, Texas State College (now Texas Woman’s University) held a Redbud event from 1939 to 1981. During the ’90s, this event was called “Redbud Days and Romp” and featured 1K and 5K races, which hosted more than 240 runners. In 2001, the event was renamed “Denton Redbud Festival” and has thrived as a family-friendly festival ever since. Fun fact: the Redbud tree is the official tree of Denton!
In an effort to combat graffiti, KDB also began a Mural Art Initiative. KDB has commissioned three public murals with a fourth scheduled for this fall. Our next mural location is a prominent entrance to the city, and with help from the KAB/Lowe’s grant, this mural project will reflect what a clean and beautiful Denton means to its community members.
Recycling + Waste Reduction
It’s hard to imagine not having the convenience of single-stream curbside recycling, but not too long ago, Denton was just getting started. The photo below shows a momentous day for Keep Denton Beautiful when glass recycling was first introduced in Denton in 1990. Now City of Denton Solid Waste & Recycling runs one of the top operations in the world. It’s exciting to imagine where we will be in the next 30 years!
Urban Forestry
Cultivating Denton’s urban forests and protecting trees is a cause near and dear to KDB. KDB has been responsible for Denton’s designation as a Tree City USA community for 27 years. This fall, KDB will celebrate its 20th Annual Community Tree Giveaway, an event where residents can receive a free tree for their home. Each year, KDB gives out an average of 760 native or adapted trees at this drive-thru event at the city landfill. In addition to the tree giveaway, KDB has worked with the City of Denton since 2015 to give away 1,200 free trees to residents through the Denton Tree Initiative.
Although this is just a snapshot of where Keep Denton Beautiful started and how far we’ve come, we want to inspire other communities to take action. Our organization started with one goal: to beautify the city’s entryways – and look how it grew! Beginning with one goal in mind and starting small can evolve into a community culture. Here’s to 30 years of a clean, beautiful, and vibrant Denton!
Blog Post Written by Autumn Natalie, Event & Outreach Coordinator of Keep Denton Beautiful
