Each month, KTB highlights a new affiliate organization on the blog and through an Instagram takeover. This campaign recognizes the diverse organizations working hard to keep Texas beautiful. Check out past highlighted affiliates here.
Nacogdoches, a town as unique as its name, is coined as the oldest town in Texas. Pine trees, azaleas, and Japanese maples are among the favorite flora in our neck of the Piney Woods. Nacogdoches was named Garden Capital of Texas in 2013 by former governor Rick Perry. There are several trails and around 17 gardens or parks in Nacogdoches, each one more beautiful than the last.
Nacogdoches is home to Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) and is represented by their mascot, the Lumberjack. SFA has a strong forestry and agriculture college, which accounts for three beautiful gardens on campus.
Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful (KNB) has a variety of programs that allow community members to invest in a cleaner, more beautiful Nacogdoches. KNB is proud to be a Gold-Star Affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful.
Lanana Creek is adjacent to the Lanana Creek trail which connects two gardens and two parks.
Among KNB’s programs is Techcycle, a program offered twice a year at the Nacogdoches farmer’s market. Community members bring their old electronics to recycle. KNB accepts printers, cell phones, cables, monitors, and more on these two days. At our last Techcycle event, we collected almost 4,000 pounds of recyclable material!
KNB also fosters a tree farm next to the Nacogdoches city landfill. This tree farm is part of our initiative to beautify Nacogdoches with locally grown trees. Another popular beautification program is Nacogdoches Blooms. This annual fundraiser sells bulbs to raise money for KNB. Bulbs can be donated by businesses to plant along trails or community members can buy them for their personal gardens.
KNB has hundreds of litter abatement bins to dispose of trash properly at Nacogdoches events. Whether it be at the Dia de los Muertos Fiesta or the city’s annual Nine Flags Christmas Parade, you can find volunteers working hard to keep litter of the brick streets of Nacogdoches. Community members are welcome to adopt bins for a night or two for their events as well. Proceeds go back into KNB’s programs.
Along with litter abatement, KNB maintains stretch of highway in Nacogdoches four times a year. KNB is thankful for the many organizations at SFA for volunteering with us frequently to help keep Nacogdoches clean. Waste reduction is important to KNB, which is why we inform community members about what they can recycle and where to recycle it. While KNB is not in charge of the recycling facilities in Nacogdoches, many community members come to KNB with questions.
One of KNB’s most important tools for communication is social media. Many social media campaigns are run each month to help online advocates learn more about being green in their everyday lives. From facts about how houseplants purify air to reminding our Facebooks friends to cut out plastic straws, KNB believes social media is a tool that helps us connect with community members.
Our Instagram and Twitter feature user generated content of the beautiful things they find in Nacogdoches. Whether it be a beautiful sunset over Lake Nac or the azalea trails in the spring, users can tag us with #KeepNacBeautiful for a chance to be featured on our page!
With 2019 just beginning, KNB hopes to inspire online followers to pick a green resolution to keep with for the year. Whether it be recycling a new type of material or walking and biking more and driving less, Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful wishes everyone a Green 2019!
Blog Post Written By Alyssa Faykus, Intern for Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful.
