Sep 02 2025 - Oct 16 2025
Youth Recognition & Education
Keep Texas Beautiful offers resources to help youth learn, lead, and be recognized for their environmental stewardship. Our Patch Program allows Scouts, Camp Fire youth, and other groups to earn recognition through community projects, while our educational resources provide ways to engage young people in exploring key environmental issues.
Keep Texas Beautiful encourages Texas youth to get involved in community beautification projects and litter clean-ups and be conscious of the environment and sustainability. Our youth recognition efforts provide young Texans with resources and recognition for keeping their communities clean and beautiful.
What is Scout Pack and how do you get involved?
Scout Pack is a creative way to earn our KTB patch. If you’re involved in Scouts of America or Girls Scouts, it can even help you earn a Soil & Water Conservation Patch or complete your It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey.
To participate in this program, you can register your youth group for the Greatest American Cleanup (March-May) or a Fall Sweep Cleanup happening in the fall. The most exciting part of Scout Pack is the custom patches to show off all the great work you did with Keep Texas Beautiful!
Volunteering during adolescence helps our young Texans know how to keep Texas clean and shows them how littering can affect our environment.
History
Keep Texas Beautiful’s Youth Patch Program was launched and supported by the Honorable Ruthe Jackson, a founding member of KTB and councilwoman in Grand Prairie.
We continue to improve our patch program in Ms. Jackson’s memory. Today we have five different patches and more in the works. We believe recognizing youth for their environmental efforts is key to creating a sustainable future.
Scout Patches
What is Scout Pack and how do you get involved?
Scout Pack is a creative way to earn our KTB patch. If you’re involved in Scouting America or Girls Scouts, it can even help you earn a Soil & Water Conservation Patch or complete your It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey.
To participate in this program, you can register your youth group for the Greatest American Cleanup (March-May) or a Fall Sweep Cleanup happening in the fall. The most exciting part of Scout Pack is the custom patches to show off all the great work you did with Keep Texas Beautiful!
Volunteering during adolescence helps our young Texans know how to keep Texas clean and shows them how littering can affect our environment.
Earn the Keep Texas Beautiful patch by participating in a cleanup event, improvement project, or environmental activity that is sponsored by a KTB affiliate.
Earn the I Keep Texas Beautiful patch by participating or hosting any activity relating to litter prevention, beautification, waste reduction, or environmental education.
The America Recycles Day patch is designed to encourage Scouts to participate on America Recyles Day by spreading the word about the benefits of recycling and to practice recycling themselves.
The I Can Dig It patches are earned by doing a project or event that involves digging in the dirt or being a part of nature. This may include planting trees or flowers, building a garden or maintaining an existing one, spending the day in nature, and many other activities.
Don’t mess with Texas Trash-Off patches are earned by participation in a cleanup event or improvement project that is done during the designated Trash-Off days.
The Keep Texas Waterways Clean patch aims to encourage youth to participate in the restoration of local waterways.
Scout Cleanup Resources
Resources for Educators
Lesson plans, activities, and funding opportunities for working with youth
The UT Austin Environmental Science Institute has launched a Planet Texas 2050 initiative that provides free curriculum resources for elementary, middle, and high school students covering water, energy, urbanization, and ecosystem resources. The curriculum is TEKs aligned and includes links to purchase any of the optional low-cost materials to supplement the lessons.
