Keep Nicholls Beautiful Awarded Grant for New Campus Water Bottle Refilling Stations

It was recently announced that the Keep Nicholls Beautiful (KNB) organization has been selected as a recipient of Keep Louisiana Beautiful’s University Affiliate Grant. According to this news release from Nicholls State University, the coveted University Affiliate Grant will allow KNB to install two new water bottle refilling stations on campus as well as host a water bottle giveaway. The water bottle giveaway will also serve as an opportunity for students receiving a new bottle to sign a pledge to stop single-use plastic water bottles and also sign up to volunteer at the next KNB event.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, is the state’s premier anti-litter and community improvement organization, and their University Affiliate Grant that’s been awarded to Nicholls is in the amount of $4,354.15. The University Affiliate Grant program was originally developed as part of a $500,000 five-year EPA Gulf of Mexico Trash Free Waters Grant that was secured by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2021.

As part of that five-year Grant, Keep Louisiana Beautiful was established as a sub-recipient, and the funding has allowed for the University Affiliates Program to be launched, a litter assessment app to be developed, educational training videos or campus communities to be created, and grant opportunities for University Affiliates to be created. The program itself is operated in response to a growing interest in sustainability, waste reduction, and litter prevention that is able to occur at the university level.

Speaking on being selected as a recipient of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate Grant, Dr. Mitzi Jackson,the Keep Nicholls Beautiful Task Force Chair, said, “Keep Nicholls Beautiful is grateful to receive this grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful. Nicholls students desire more water bottle refilling stations on campus, and with this grant, we will install two new stations in academic buildings. The water bottle giveaway aims to reduce the utilization of single-use plastic water bottles and will help to educate our campus on the harmful environmental effects of single-use plastics.”

Keep Nicholls Beautiful was formed during the fall of 2021 when Nicholls State University became part of the first cohort of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate Program. This year, the impacts of KNB were seen as over 1,200 students moved into residence halls for the Fall 2022 semester, and KNB members collected their cardboard boxes. The boxes were then donated to the LaFourche Arc as a part of their prominent cardboard recycling program.

In the forthcoming Spring Semester, Keep Nicholls Beautiful is planning to stay busy, which will include educating the campus community on proper recycling techniques and other sustainable practices that they can implement. KNB has taken the steps to arrange for two courses to partner together on a collaborative education outreach campaign. One of Dr. Juliann Allen’s marketing courses will collaborate with one of Ms. Trisha Rabalais’ graphic design courses for the planned service lending project.

At the end of the Spring 2023 semester, KNB plans to partner with the Colonel Closet to collect any unwanted items, nonperishable food items, and hygiene products from students moving out of the residence halls on campus. The nonperishable foods and hygiene products will then be donated to Mom’s Pantry and other local food banks in the area, which other items considered necessary for making a residence hall room more comfortable, such as kitchen supplies, decor and wall art, and storage containers, will be used for a Trash to Treasure sale at the start of the Fall 2023 Semester. The Task Force in charge of Keep Nicholls Beautiful consists of members from each college, various key departments on campus, SGA, and the GREEN Club.

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