Education

Teacher Training Outdoor Learning Centers Youth Environmental Leadership Youth Programs

We Teach
Keep Houston Beautiful stimulates public awareness about the impact of litter and waste in our environment. KHB develops comprehensive public education and training programs that target citizens, students and educators. KHB collaborates with existing organizations in an effort to integrate solid waste education and environmental stewardship into their programs.

Lucky the Ladybug Community Leadership Training Adopt-A-Block Mural Projects - "Graffiti Hurts" Teacher Training Outdoor Learning Centers for Schools Youth Environmental Leadership Conference Little Kids Litter Party and Recycle Art Contest

Lucky the Ladybug is Houston's First Lady of Litter Prevention.

Lucky is no stranger to litter prevention, as ladybugs actively rid gardens of pests and natural wastes.

Her message is clear; litter is unsightly and neighborhoods that are littered give the impression that people who live or work there do not care about their community. Kids can have a positive impact on this problem by not littering and by picking up litter when it is safe to handle. Most importantly, they can discourage others from littering.

There are seven sources of litter, and Lucky has seven friends that help her educate about them. If everyone does their part, Houstonians can take pride in the fact they helped keep Houston beautiful and litter-free.

Lucky the Ladybug was developed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention.

If you would like to learn more about Lucky and her message e-mail us at info@houstonbeautiful.org.

Community Leadership Training Our many years of experience working with Houston's neighborhoods, city and county services and other community organizations gives us the expertise to know how to make things happen in our city. Our Clean Neighborhoods program is a national model for preventing urban litter, transforming neglected areas, reducing crime, and revitalizing neighborhoods. We mobilize area residents and teach them how to utilize critical services and resources so that they can transform their neighborhoods into areas of beauty, pride and safety.

Teacher Training
Keep Houston Beautiful puts to use its many years of developing and bringing litter awareness educational activities into schools and before youth groups. For over 15 years we have been instructing teachers from Houston area school districts on the use of the highly successful Keep America Beautiful "Waste-In-Place" curricula. These after school training seminars allow teachers to conduct the various lessons with the instructors and then put what they have learned to work in their classrooms. The curriculum is particularly useful as it is correlated to TAAS and can readily be used in the classroom.

We can also help you with speakers who can come to your classroom on various environmental topics.

We also assist with various schools on beautification and landscaping projects in their neighborhoods and on school property. Our Graffiti Hurts program identifies targets of graffiti, and under the leadership of a professional artist, mobilizes young people to design and paint murals to cover the graffiti and enhance the area.

If you are a teacher and want to learn more, please email us at info@houstonbeautiful.org.

We also have a number of useful publications to assist you with your curriculum.
KHB publications:
Youth Recycling Workbook

Outdoor Learning Centers for Schools
Environmental Outdoor Learning Centers at schools provide students a dynamic opportunity to learn about their impact on the environment while working together with their teachers and the community.

Build a foundation of respect for the earth by developing an outdoor learning center for your school. These centers give students an increased sense of pride and identification with their school and the environment. They offer teachers a chance to address all types of curricula while teaching students ecological cycles and how nature’s systems are interconnected. Learn how to provide children new motivation in attending school. E-mail us at info@houstonbeautiful.org to learn more about our next training session for teachers.

	Youth Environmental Leadership Beyond working one-on-one with teachers, Keep Houston Beautiful has organized a Youth Advisory Board made up of enthusiastic young people who are committed to improving our environment. They keep us abreast of environmental issues that interest youth and projects they want to undertake. They also keep their friends and schools aware of environmental matters.
Since 1995, our annual Environmental Leadership Conference provides an opportunity for student leaders to either create projects or get involved with existing initiatives to improve their schools and communities environmentally. If you are a young person, we want to hear about environmental improvement projects you've done. Please email us at info@houstonbeautiful.org.

Youth Programs
Youngsters often learn better by doing. We have events throughout the year that your children or students can participate in and learn valuable lessons about recycling, litter and the environment.

For more than 30 years, thousands of children ages three to five have converged downtown in Sam Houston Park for Keep Houston Beautiful's Annual Little Kids' Litter Party. Many of the children are brought by parents who once attended this incredible event as little kids themselves and now bring their little ones to enjoy themselves and also learn important environmental messages.

The event includes the musical production "Clean Getaway" which emphasizes recycling and litter prevention. The young people cheer the winners of the "Decorate Your School", "Words! Alive", and "BFI RecycleArt" contests. When the entertainment concludes, the children join the Mayor of Houston and "big kids" from area elementary schools in the International Children's Day Parade of Adopted Schools of Sister Cities of Houston in celebration of children all over the world. The parade begins at City Hall and proceeds back to Sam Houston Park where the children enjoy the picnic lunches they have brought to the Litter Party.

Using bags, boxes, bottle caps, natural waste, cans, plastic wrap, trash and a great deal of imagination, student RecycleArtists from area elementary and middle schools create their entries in the annual RecycleArt Contest. Judges from Keep Houston Beautiful and the Houston International Festival chose first through third place winners for both elementary and middle schools. Exhibits of the "litter art" are on display each year at the award-winning schools through the conclusion of the Houston International Festival.

The "Clean Getaway" skit is an original 20-minute musical comedy emphasizing recycling, waste reduction and reuse. Starring five teenage youths, the lead character Detective Curbside, and his guitar playing sidekick Sam confront a trio of suspected litterers: Coffee Man, Convenience Lady and Chip Kid. The audience gets into the act as the jury in deciding the suspects' guilt or innocence, while learning recycling and waste reduction options from Detective Curbside. This upbeat, high energy comedy concludes with a rousing ensemble finale of the song "Think Again."

"Clean Getaway" is available for performance for a modest fee to cover costs. Please email us for more information.

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