Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Issues Call for Citizens to Take Part in Georgia's Great Days of Service

DULUTH, Ga. - Sept. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Celebrating its 16th year, Great Days of Service is a cooperative and community-focused initiative created by the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services – a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the health and human service needs of everyone in Gwinnett County. Because the environment plays such a vital role in the health and wellness of the citizens it serves, another local nonprofit has been honored to play a role in Great Days of Service since its inception. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful (GCB) – an environmentally-focused 501(c)(3) charitable organization – is proud to carry on that tradition with a special focus on a local watershed. Last year – alongside its partners at Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources – GCB inspired dozens of eco-conscious and caring volunteers to fan out over the Jackson Creek Watershed in Norcross while undertaking a number of tasks that are vital to the preservation and protection of the watershed. This year, GCB shifts its focus to the Beaver Ruin Watershed in Duluth with a cleanup scheduled for Saturday, October 24 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

“Great Days of Service is a wonderful reminder from one year to the next to ask ourselves a very simple, but extremely critical question… ‘What can I do to help my community?’” explained GCB Executive Director, Connie Wiggins. “There are so many different ways and areas in which we can serve. The reasons to protect the health and sustainability of our watersheds reach far beyond their impact on the physical beauty of the area. The alarming truth is that everything that happens on and around the watershed – which represents the surrounding area of land that feeds into a lake, stream or pond – can have an impact on nearby waterways. The very same waterways that sustain life for local flora and fauna, provide an outlet for recreational pursuits like fishing and swimming, and sometimes even provide drinking water for our neighbors here in Gwinnett and further downstream. Water from rain and runoff flows downhill from the watershed into the waterway, often carrying with it any litter, chemical pollution and the like with it. That’s where our volunteers come in.”

On October 24, volunteers for the Great Days of Service – Beaver Ruin Watershed Initiative will show their community pride by working together as neighbors to:

* Remove litter and invasive plants that threaten the health and sustainability of the Beaver Ruin watershed;

* Stencil storm drains with the important message, “No dumping, Leads to Streams” and educating neighbors about how anything that does down the drain directly affects our waterways;

* Install bird and bat boxes that provide a welcoming habitat for creatures that disperse seeds and pollen and – in turn – help the watershed thrive

* Plant additional native shrubs and trees to discourage the growth of invasive plants, and increase the watershed.s ability to help filter pollutants from the water and provide a habitat and food for local fauna.

* And more!

All volunteers must pre-register and be 14 or older to participate. To pre-register and learn more about Great Days of Service – Beaver Ruin Watershed Initiative, interested parties are encouraged to visit www.GwinnettCB.org. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful offers a wide variety of ways to help residents get educated and engaged to care for our environment.

About Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful:  Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. (GCB) is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. The organization is guided by a 55-member Citizens Advisory Board that represents all sectors of the Gwinnett County community. A nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities throughout Gwinnett, GCB involves more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards.