Keep Alachua County Beautiful's mission is to beautify, conserve resources, recycle, educate and preserve Alachua County's environmental legacy. We accomplish this through beautification activities, environmental action, small and large restoration projects and through promoting recycling and reducing waste products.

Keep Alachua County Beautiful will host a clean-up on April 19th which is part of a national event held in conjuction and simultaneously with all the local affiliates of Keep America Beautiful for the Great American Clean-up. The event will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Registration will take place at 8:00 a.m. at Westside Park. Volunteers may choose which activity they would like to be involved in or if they are unsure specificlly with what they would like to do, event coordinators will assign tasks.

Keep Alachua County Beautiful in conjunction with the Florida Department of Urban Forestry is hosting a tree giveaway, April 5th (12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.) and April 6th (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). The event will take place at Harmony Gardens which is located at 10100 NW 13th St. (On U.S. 441, North of 43rd St.). There is a limit of one tree per household and must show proof of Alachua County residency. There are a limited number of trees available.

The Spring Festival Committee invites you to attend the 2008 Spring Garden Festival, March 29th (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.) and March 30th (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). Admission for the festival is: $7/adult, $4/children 6-13, Under 6 admitted free. The two-day event takes place at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and features plants, landscape displays, gardening supplies, arts and crafts, and auctions; silent and live. There are educational seminars, informational displays, children's activity area, entertainment, and food to satisfy any appetite. The Spring Garden Festival is organized and staffed by volunteers. Proceeds from the festival are used to beautify the city of Gainesville, support horticultural research, and educate the public. Proceeds may also help with the further development of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.

To kick off the Great American Cleanup, we are hosting a litter summit in conjuction with local civic and business leaders and city and county officials where discussions will take place on the litter issues in Alachua County. Be prepared to voice your concerns and suggestions to develop a plan for reducing the amount of litter in Alachua County. The event will be held between 10 and 12 at the Hippodrome Theater in downtown Gainesville.

Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program, takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 2.8 million volunteers and attendees. The hardworking volunteers donated more than 7.7 million hours in 2007 to clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.

In 2007, Great American Cleanup volunteers collected 200 million pounds of litter and debris; planted 4.6 million trees, flowers and bulbs; cleaned 178,000 miles or roads, streets and highways; and diverted more than 70.6 million plastic (PET) bottles and more than 2.2 million scrap tires from the waste stream.