Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites schools in Pennsylvania to participate in their Litter Free School Zone Program, a comprehensive program that encourages young people to play an active role in protecting and improving our environment through recycling, litter awareness and community stewardship.

The organization provides a sign recognizing the participating school as a litter-free school zone. The school, in turn, organizes two cleanup or beautification events per year. There are currently more than 70 schools that participate in the program. All schools are welcome - elementary through high school.

“The Litter Free School Zone Program has given wings to an intentional environmental stewardship program at our K-12 school,” said a teacher whose school participates in the program. “There’s something really helpful about being part of a movement that offers a workable accountability for campus cleanups and beautification events. Older and younger students form teams to pick up trash, plant flowers, weed a garden, repaint playground equipment and more.”

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful welcomes students, clubs, classes and even entire school districts to participate. This program provides a fun and easy way for students to work together, learning valuable community leadership and responsibility skills while gaining a respect for the environment and the world around them. It is also an opportunity to develop a schoolwide stewardship ethic and set a community example.

The Litter Free School Zone Program is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection. Anyone interested in participating should visit keeppabeautiful.org/keep-pennsylvania-beautiful-keep-it-litter-free-school-zone or call Stephanie Larson at 877-772-3673.