GNPS was recently awarded a grant to implement a new educational pilot program called “Broadening Community Beautification: How to Get Started with Native Plant Habitats.” This program, funded by a Microhabitat Program Incubator Catalyst Grant from the Village & Wilderness organization, serves to promote the stewardship and conservation of native plant habitats through community partnerships. The pilot will test a package of tools to educate a broader audience on native plant habitats through partnerships between 5 GNPS chapters and 5 Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation (KGBF) local affiliate groups.

During late winter and spring of 2025, an in-person outreach program will be hosted by each participating KGBF affiliate, featuring a presentation by the local GNPS chapter, a resource toolkit and a free native plant for participants. By tapping into the local Keep America Beautiful network, GNPS is able to reach broader audiences who are interested in protecting the environment through the lens of the KGBF vision of “making Georgia cleaner, greener and more beautiful.” Participating partnerships in this pilot include: the Coastal Plain Chapter and Keep Tift Beautiful; the Fringed Campion Chapter and Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful; the Intown Atlanta Chapter and Keep Chamblee Beautiful; the North Metro Atlanta Chapter and Keep Roswell Beautiful; and the West Georgia Chapter and Keep Carroll Beautiful. After the pilot concludes, an evaluation will be conducted to understand the program’s effectiveness, needs and gaps, and potential to scale to more chapters and affiliates.

GNPS would like to extend its thanks to Village & Wilderness for its support of this new initiative.