If you're having trouble viewing this email, you cansee it online.
Community News and Resources | January 2026 A monthly publication funded by the PA Department of Environmental Protection
Litter Hawk Youth Awards — Entries Due January 31!
Calling all parents, teachers, youth leaders, and students
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites young creators across the state to join this year’s Litter Hawk Youth Award Program, celebrating the theme: Celebrate America250 – Keep It Beautiful!
As our nation approaches its 250th birthday, we’re calling on Pennsylvania students in grades K–6 to show their creativity — through art, writing, or video — and inspire pride in the places we call home.
Projects include: Grades K through 4 – Poster Grade 5 – Essay Grade 6 – Video
Winners will be announced in April 2026 in coordination with an awards ceremony at the PA State Capitol Building! The deadline for participating is January 31, 2026.
Gearing Up for Pick Up Pennsylvania The state's largest community improvement program
As spring approaches, communities across the Commonwealth are gearing up for Pick Up Pennsylvania, the state’s largest annual community improvement initiative. Last year, more than 53,500 volunteers, including individuals, families, schools, businesses, and civic groups, came together to remove 3.4 million pounds of litter, plant over 22,500 trees, shrubs, and flowers, and show pride in their hometowns. Let’s make this year even more impactful!
Pick Up Pennsylvania is more than a cleanup effort, it’s a statewide movement that strengthens neighborhoods, protects our natural landscapes, and inspires environmental stewardship. Volunteers participate in litter cleanups, beautification projects, recycling events, and tree plantings, all contributing to a cleaner, healthier Pennsylvania.
Whether you’re organizing a group event or participating on your own, every effort makes a meaningful difference. Through partnerships with the PA Department of Environmental Protection, PA Department of Transportation, and PA Waste Industries Association, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful provides free resources to help volunteers host successful events, including trash bags, gloves, and safety vests (while supplies last), as well as access to reduced cost trash disposal.
Submit your event photos to PRC’s Lens on Litter for a chance to win $500 1.Register your Pick Up PA event with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
2.Take pictures before and after your event.
3.Report your event to Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
4.Enter your Photos with PRC’s Lens On Litter contest. You will need your Pick Up PA Event ID to be eligible.
Tri-County CleanWays partnered with the Southside Community Garden in Lawrence County to replace garden beds, trim, weed, repair signage, and prepare for spring planting.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Partners with Columbia Gas - Nisource Charitable Foundation
With funding from Columbia Gas - NiSource Charitable Foundation, two Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Young Ambassadors job-shadowed in the Columbia Gas, Monaca and York facilities, to experience a day in the life of an Environmental Coordinator. They learned firsthand why environmental permitting, specialized procedures, and compliance measures are essential prior to excavation and stream crossings.
Mini grants were also provided to county affiliates, Allegheny CleanWays, Tri-County CleanWays, Keep Centre County Beautiful, Keep Coatesville Beautiful, Keep Fayette County Green, PA CleanWays of Venango County, and Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling for community greening and beautification. Grants totaling $20,000 supported community projects including illegal dump cleanups, composting, garden improvements and tree planting.
Your support makes everything we do possible. Please consider supporting our mission of empowering Pennsylvanians to keep our communities clean and beautiful.
