Cleaner and more scenic Berkeley County, new community beautification initiative

South Carolina – The Keep Berkeley Beautiful organization is holding a ribbon-cutting for its inaugural gateway project. It will take place on Tuesday at 9 a.m. The event will take place at the intersection of Old Whitesville Road and Highway 17A in Moncks Corner.

This project is part of their mission for cleaner and more scenic community. The organization is made of locals, volunteers from Berkeley County. The group has been planting pants, created a garden and trees in the area of the intersection.

Sarah McCarthy-Smith, the Keep Berkeley Beautiful Director, says that this is just one of the many projects that should take place in the upcoming months in the county. The whole project cost around $10,000 and they were able to fund it through donations, private grants and part of the project was funded by the county’s Accommodations Tax on the hospitality industry.

Few years ago, they noticed that people started throwing more litter in the entry points of the county. Not just is not good looking for county in general, but it also affects the local residents in the county. In a survey they found out that people are less likely to throw litter in nice looking areas. That’s how the idea for beautification initiative was born. Smith says they will clean and make good looking the entry points in the county. It will give better picture of the county, but they hope people will not throw litter in these areas and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

According to the organization, more than 13,000 cars drive through this intersection and this number is growing every day.

While the organization is preparing for new upcoming projects, they also want to hear community ideas where they next project should be. Keep Berkeley Beautiful also welcomes volunteers who want to join their group. If you are one of them, contact the organization for more details.