Jan 17 2026
Grand Prairie: Adopt-a-Stream, Rodger Branch with Westchester on the Creek HOA
Westchester on the Creek HOA
Making Waves
Engage. Educate. Protect Our Gulf.
Making Waves is a three-year initiative funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect and restore the Texas Gulf Coast. Through this project, Keep Texas Beautiful is exploring how environmental messages influence real-world action to prevent litter and reduce plastic pollution in Texas waterways.
The project combines research, education, and engagement—empowering high school students and communities to make a difference. A statewide art and slogan contest will invite youth to create inspiring messages about litter prevention, while cleanup events across Texas will turn those messages into action.
The winning artwork and slogan will inspire a behavior change campaign encouraging all Texans to Engage. Educate. Protect our Gulf.
Speak Up for Texas Waterways
Join a Student Focus Group
Who:
Keep Texas Beautiful is seeking 9th through 12th grade students across the state of Texas to participate in focus groups to discuss their attitudes surrounding litter and clean water in Texas.
What:
The focus group will consist of one Zoom meeting lasting from 6-7 p.m. with a facilitator and Keep Texas Beautiful staff member, as well as up to 8 other youth participants. Please review the dates below, organized by region, to confirm your availability to participate on the selected date before completing the focus group application.
Selected participants and their guardians will be notified ahead of the event, and based on the amount of participation needed in each geographic region.
Each participant who completes the focus group session will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
When:
Tuesdays, Jan 6 – Feb 17. Each session will last from 6 – 7 pm.
Selected participants and their parent/guardian will be notified no later than one week before their regional session.
Hill Country – Tuesday, January 6th, 2026
Prairies & Lakes – Tuesday, January 13th, 2026
Pineywoods – Tuesday, January 20th, 2026
South Texas Plains – Tuesday, January 27th, 2026
Panhandle Plains – Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026
Big Bend Country – Tuesday, February 10th, 2026
Gulf Coast – Tuesday, February 17th, 2026
Where:
Focus groups will take place online via Zoom. Selected participants will receive a link to join before the focus group begins.
Why:
The purpose of the data collected from the focus groups will be utilized in a state-wide campaign led by Keep Texas Beautiful, with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, to empower youth in Texas to make an impactful difference in reducing litter from the Gulf waterways. The overall project will encompass an art contest and waterway cleanups along the Gulf Coast.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department map of Texas’ natural regions
