Augusta Garden Club Rakes in 30 in Thirty

The Augusta Garden Club has been awarded a 30 in Thirty Grant of $1,000 in the Cigarette Litter Prevention category.

Government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia were invited to apply for 30 in Thirty Grants of $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided over $178,000 to fund 230 environmental projects and programs all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity this year of our partners at Altria and Keep America Beautiful.

Since the 1990’s the Augusta Garden Club has been committed to the cleanliness, beautification, and protection of Lewis Creek and its tributaries, among many other conservation projects. Their “This is Litter too!” project aims to advance cigarette litter prevention in the Historic District by providing cigarette butt receptacles and public education. Thomas Ottenim, a senior at the Governor’s School, has selected this initiative to implement as his capstone project for 2018-19. Funds awarded by Keep Virginia Beautiful will be used to purchase eight receptacles, signage, and educational material. Working together with the Garden Club, Thomas is confident they will see a reduction in cigarette litter in the Historic District.